2025 NCAA Baseball Super Regional Preview: Arizona vs. North Carolina

By far my favorite series this weekend, the Arizona Wildcats will travel to Chapel Hill to take on the Tar Heels of North Carolina. I’m on record from week two of the regular season saying North Carolina would go to Omaha and be the last team standing.

Arizona found their way here after sweeping the Eugene Regional, taking down Cal Poly twice and Utah Valley once, outscoring their opponents 31-6 over three wins. After their first Big 12 Championship, taking down TCU in the finale, Chip Hale’s club has been on fire, and arguably the scariest remaining team in the field.

North Carolina went 3-1 in their regional, taking care of business against Oklahoma to punch their ticket and advance. While they didn’t win the ACC regular season on a math game they lost, they’re my favorite team in college baseball this season, between the pitching depth, Scott Forbes being a fantastic coach, and now the offense firing on all cylinders.

This will shake up to be a war, and there are so many players to watch in this one. It’s truly going to be appointment television for all three games.

Series Overview

Arizona Wildcats

• Record: 42-18 (18-2)
• RPI: 27
• SOS: 48

North Carolina Tar Heels

• Record: 45-13 (18-11)
• RPI: 4
• SOS: 20

Team Deep Dives

Arizona Wildcats

Chip Hale prides his club on the starting pitching, and for good reason. Freshman Smith Bailey has been nothing short of unbelievable this season and is one of my favorite 2027 arms. Pitching to a 3.97 ERA with 72 strikeouts in 77 innings pitched this year over 16 starts, and his ability to keep the Cats in games until the bullpen can take over has been big for the Cats.

Owen Kramkowski, another 2026 arm I’ve fallen in love with, flashing a low-mid 90s sinker with a sharp slider in the low-mid 80s, is arguably the ace of the staff, pitching to a 4.73 ERA in 85 ⅔ innings this year. 

The bullpen for Arizona has been lock-down all season, headlined by right-hander Tony Pluta, who commands a 1.39 ERA in 32 ⅓ innings, and hasn’t allowed an earned run since April 1. The pitching staff for Arizona should certainly be able to hold down the Tar Heels’ offense across the series.

The high-powered offense of Arizona is certainly up against a goliath of a pitching staff with Carolina. Shortstop Mason White (ranked #129 on our Top 300 list) has been lighting the world on fire since entering postseason play, clubbing four home runs in the regional. Slashing .336/.419/.714 with 19 home runs, 18 doubles, eight triples, and 70 RBI this season, he is a true balance of speed and power despite some swing-and-miss issues.

The #17 ranked prospect on our Top 300, Brendan Summerhill, has been a difference maker since coming back from injury, as he’s been able to slot into the leadoff spot to really lengthen the lineup, slashing .370/.492/.610 with 11 doubles, six triples, and 33 RBI this year.

The supporting cast of Aaron Walton, Adonys Guzman, Maddox Mihalikis, and more is relentless, and this is a true one-through-nine lineup that can be a nightmare.

North Carolina Tar Heels

The only problem this Tar Heel team faced this season was the lack of slug through their lineup, but as of late, they’ve been able to break through. Gavin Gallaher has come on strong now, offering additional power to Luke Stevenson and Hunter Stokely.

The real strength of this team lies on the mound. Jake Knapp has every argument to be the National Pitcher of the Year, pitching to a 1.98 ERA with a 13-0 record over 95 ⅓ innings pitched, surrendering just 16 walks to his 85 strikeouts and holding opposing hitters to a .189 average.

Former ACC Freshman Pitcher of the Year Jason DeCaro, while having a down year, certainly has the ability to dominate any team in the country, and Aidan Haugh rounds out the rotation, giving 71 innings this year while holding opposing hitters to a .230 batting average, which is higher than the team (.225).

It’s hard to ignore what this team has been able to do this season, pitching-wise. They are a top-10 staff in the country in terms of ERA (3.39) and WHIP (1.23), and the different looks through the staff should give Arizona fits.

While the offense isn’t a high-powered machine, they are extremely consistent and go nine hitters deep. Kane Kepley can be a difference maker with his 42 stolen bases, and former Division III infielder Alex Madera has been Mr. Consistent.

With a lot of veteran leadership and players like Luke Stevenson who can leave the yard on a moment’s notice, this is an extremely tough matchup for any staff.

Not only does this North Carolina team play some of the best defense you’ll see in the country, as they seem to be the breeding ground for elite center fielders following Vance Honeycutt in 2024, but Scott Forbes at the helm is one of the best in the Nation.

He seems to push all the right buttons in terms of bullpen management, which this time of year is one of the biggest difference makers a team can have.

Prediction

While I do love this Arizona team, it’s hard for me to imagine the Heels dropping the series at home with the way the offense has come on, especially in the regional. 

This time of year, pitching depth and defense go an extremely long way, and we’ve seen plenty of teams win National Championships without high-powered offenses, so I have to go with the Tar Heels here.