Who is Scott Forbes’ Assistant Head Coach Bryant Gaines?

Bryant Gaines pitched for UNC from 2007-2011. These days he is found in the dugout with head coach Scott Forbes, leading the likes of Jake Knapp (now with the Chicago Cubs organization), Aidan Haugh (now with the Tampa Bay Rays), Walker McDuffie, Jason DeCaro, Ryan Lynch, along with the rest of the pitching staff to shutdown opponents from getting any runs across.

Gaines is quite familiar with the College World Series, too, not only as a coach but a player as well.

Here is more on Gaines and his impact on UNC, written on GoHeels:

"Carolina has won over 65 percent of its games with Gaines manning the dugout and has reached the NCAA tournament seven times in that span. In his tenure as assistant head coach, the team has racked up 154 wins, captured a pair of ACC titles, made four NCAA tournament appearances (each year), and earned a trip to the 2024 College World Series.

A four-year letterman and two-time captain for Carolina from 2007-11, Gaines has now spent a total of 15 seasons with the program after previously serving on Hall of Fame head coach Mike Fox’s staff from 2012-15. He has been a part of half of the team’s trips to the College World Series, four as a player and two as an assistant.

Since 2020, eight UNC pitchers have been taken in the MLB Draft, with 2021 First Team All-ACC honoree Austin Love being the highest selection. Love came to Chapel Hill as an unranked prospect whom Gaines developed into a third-round pick. Davis Palermo (8th), Brandon Schaeffer (18th), Shawn Rapp (20th), Max Carlson (12th), Dalton Pence (11th), Shea Sprague (13th), and Aidan Haugh (16th) round out the list, none of which were previously drafted out of high school or junior college.

After taking over as recruiting coordinator in the summer of 2020, the Tar Heels signed three top 15 recruiting classes according to Perfect Game. The 2023 group lead the way, ranking ninth nationally and second in the ACC.

2024 was a banner year for the program on its way to Omaha and Gaines’ arsenal of arms played a huge role in propelling the team to the CWS. Under his guidance, Carolina posted the lowest ERA (4.30) and issued the fewest walks per nine innings (4.01) in the ACC. The team’s ERA was the 15th best in the country."

D1Baseball projected UNC to be a part of the 2026 College World Series, and if there is any chance of that happening, Gaines would need to make sure the pitchers are on the same page, ready to be called upon at any moment during a game. In addition to being clear with the catcher (other end of the battery), as Luke Stevenson is off to the pros after being selected in the first round of this year's draft by the Seattle Mariners.

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