Tag Archive for: #uncbaseball

SportsTalk: UNC Baseball Starts Friday

/by

Former Kerr-Vance Academy standout and Granville County native Daniel Wilkerson is excited about Friday!  Wilkerson, assistant to the head coach for UNC Baseball, is ready to get the 15th-ranked Tar Heels on the field for the first game of the season Friday.  “I can’t sleep the night before.  It’s like Christmas morning,” Wilkerson said.

The Tar Heels open the season with a three-game series against Wagner.  The first game is Friday afternoon at 4 p.m.  The Tar Heels are just one of six ACC teams ranked in the top 15 nationally including No. 1 ranked Wake Forest.  “We didn’t play them last year and I can’t wait to go to Winston-Salem this year,” Wilkerson said.  “The rankings are meaningless.  I ignore the rankings.  We still have to go win baseball games,” Wilkerson added.

Wilkerson is also excited about his team’s prospects.  “We’ve got young arms and a good pitching staff.  We are deep in the bull pen,” said Wilkerson.

Daniel Wilkerson joined the UNC baseball program as Assistant to the head Coach and Clubhouse/Equipment manager during the 2022 fall semester.

 

SportsTalk: Wilkerson Wraps Up Junior Season At UNC

/by

Colby Wilkerson saw much success during his time at Kerr-Vance Academy and that success has continued at UNC where Wilkerson is the starting shortstop.  Wilkerson, who is a junior this year, and the Tar Heels just wrapped up the season making it into the NCAA Tournament.  Wilkerson felt UNC was successful this season but didn’t quite get to where he had hoped this season.  “Every season has goods and bads. We always want to get to Omaha,” Wilkerson said.  Omaha is the site of the college baseball world series, and while UNC didn’t make it this year, Wilkerson did say one of the highlights of the year was his sacrifice bunt in the bottom of the ninth inning in a late regular season game against rival NC State to win the contest.

There were other highlights for Wilkerson including the opportunity to play another year, finishing the season healthy and contributing to other players success.  Wilkerson said that every game is exciting for him and that he credits much of his personal success to having a good routine that he sticks to.

UNC will only lose three seniors for next season which could mean more wins on the diamond for the Tar Heels. “We hope to get a little better and be the last team standing,” Wilkerson concluded.

CLICK PLAY!

 

SportsTalk: Wilkerson Joins UNC Baseball Coaching Staff

/by

You may have heard the saying of going around your thumb to get to your elbow and that might be the best way to describe former Kerr Vance Academy baseball standout Daniel Wilkerson’s journey to get to UNC as an Assistant to the Head Coach and Clubhouse/Equipment Manager.  He’s been to Massachusetts, East Carolina in Greenville and Appalachian State in Boone before finally making it to UNC.

Wilkerson was at App State for only two months when he got the offer of the job at UNC. “My heart has always been at UNC,” Wilkerson said on Thursday’s SportsTalk.  His first season in his new role kicks off on February 17th when the Tar Heels open the season.  Wilkerson says baseball can be challenging in cold weather. “You’ve gotta get used to it and be prepared to play no matter the circumstances,” Wilkerson said.

One of the extra perks of the job is that his brother, Colby, is UNC’s second baseman, who is a senior. UNC is loaded with older players and Wilkerson expects the Tar Heels will have a great season but also adds the ACC is loaded with excellent teams from NC State, Wake Forest, Duke, Miami, Notre Dame, Boston College and Virginia Tech. “We’ve got to be ready to go no matter who we are playing,” according to Wilkerson when sizing up the ACC.

As part of his job as Equipment Manager, Wilkerson has to make sure players have what they need in practice and during games.  That can mean hats, bats, balls, gloves or even the right uniform, and he is excited about the newly updated weight room. It’s all part of a journey that started here in Henderson with Kerr Vance Academy.

CLICK PLAY!