UNC's Culture Is the Secret Behind Their Title Run

The Tar Heels are two wins away from a national title.

Jun 5, 2026; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Scott Forbes reacts during the seventh inning against the USC Trojans at Boshamer Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

North Carolina has found themselves in the College World Series Finals for the first time in 19 years, and they didn’t get here without their strong bond as a unit. 

UNC has consistently been one of the best teams in the country, and they’ve continued that success throughout the postseason. The No. 5-ranked team in the nation has gone 8-1 through 9 postseason games, dominating both offensively and in the pitching department on their way to the College World Series Finals. 

UNC Looking for Revenge

Jun 5, 2026; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Scott Forbes makes a visit to the mound in the seventh inning against the USC Trojans at Boshamer Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

The Tar Heels are looking to avenge their 2006 and 2007 defeats in the College World Series Finals. In both of those seasons, the Tar Heels managed to reach the championship series both times, only to lose to Oregon State in heartbreaking fashion each year. Until this year, they hadn’t been back in the College World Series Finals since those two close calls. 

They’ll face off with Oklahoma this weekend with a national title on the line. Defeating the Sooners won’t be an easy task, but the Tar Heels have proven that they can handle quality opponents all season long, and this shouldn’t be different, even with the heightened stakes. 

Jun 5, 2026; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels catcher Colin Hynek (23) reacts after making it to second base against the USC Trojans in the fourth inning at Boshamer Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

This year’s group has something in common to those teams that made it so far, and it starts with their tightly-knit bond. Ahead of the championship series, head coach Scott Forbes talked about how close his team is to one another and how it has led to their success throughout the postseason. 

Forbes’ Thoughts

Jun 7, 2026; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Scott Forbes at Boshamer Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

“I’ve never liked to use the 'team bonding' thing, but the locker room’s important. But the biggest thing is, can you get everybody pulling in the same direction with the same common goal, and that is to win a championship and be a part of something that’s bigger than yourself."

"Now with all the distractions with social media and NIL and draft, there’s still nothing better than that,” Forbes said. “The team is what we always talk about. And when you have guys return and know what our culture is about, and they implement that to all the new players — and they make it clear right away, like, hey, at the end of the day the two most important things that these guys that have already been here about care about is, can you help us win, and what kind of teammate are you?"

"Because that’s what you’re going to be remembered as the most. That’s why we’ve had such a good team.”