Scott Forbes

[HeelYeah2012]

The only time we have lost in the postseason as any kind of massive favorite under Forbes was to Arizona last year.

Acting like Arkansas was some spunky underdog coming in here in 2022 gave me a good laugh. If we hadn’t come back and won the VCU regional maybe you’d have a point. There was no shame in losing to Arkansas.

 

[23Jordan23]

The only time we have lost in the postseason as any kind of massive favorite under Forbes was to Arizona last year.

Acting like Arkansas was some spunky underdog coming in here in 2022 gave me a good laugh. If we hadn’t come back and won the VCU regional maybe you’d have a point. There was no shame in losing to Arkansas.

I'm sorry to ruffle feathers!

I think Forbes has done a great job assembling talented teams. His talented teams have played up tight in the postseason. He has time to grow as a coach since UNC is his first head coaching job (similar to Hubert Davis).

My opinion, on a message board of opinions, is that treating the last game against Arizona as "just another game" as reported by IC was a factor in the team playing up tight. Most sports psychologists would advise acceptance that a loss ends the season is a critical first step to performing well under that pressure which exists even if you pretend it doesn't. The players knew the last game was win or go home and not just another game. But I wasn't in the locker room and don't really know why UNC has underperformed in the postseason under Forbes.

Arkansas was ranked #14 (rpi) in 2022 and UNC was #11. UNC was playing at home. Host teams win 77% of games in college baseball playoffs. UNC got swept. Last year, UNC was #8 and lost to the #25 team, at home...very rare. 2024 was a great year, maybe the source of people saying Forbes is UNC's "best" coach, because they made the college world series beating the #31 ranked WVU team at home (and most importantly #15 LSU in earlier round at home)...no argument there...but they still didn't exceed expectations in the post season after performing incredibly well during the regular season. That roster was loaded and it ended up being a very good post season draw for my Heels.

 

[TroyVaughn]

I guess it depends what the expectation is. One CWS in five seasons, losing two Supers at home, and losing to FSU in Omaha. Maybe my expectations are too high but not a fan of all that. I do think he's a great coach though

 

[premn]

I think Forbes is a great coach in terms of maximizing individual players talents and preparation. I think we’re held back because we have relatively fewer truly elite individual talents compared to other teams who are in the mix year-in and year-out. I think the success so far, addition of coach Jackson, and changes to the money involved that might improve some through recruiting, but we can’t really back into the top 10 the way some SEC programs can just because they’re loaded and have the potential to turn it on suddenly.

 

[TarHeelColby10]

I'm sorry to ruffle feathers!

I think Forbes has done a great job assembling talented teams. His talented teams have played up tight in the postseason. He has time to grow as a coach since UNC is his first head coaching job (similar to Hubert Davis).

My opinion, on a message board of opinions, is that treating the last game against Arizona as "just another game" as reported by IC was a factor in the team playing up tight. Most sports psychologists would advise acceptance that a loss ends the season is a critical first step to performing well under that pressure which exists even if you pretend it doesn't. The players knew the last game was win or go home and not just another game. But I wasn't in the locker room and don't really know why UNC has underperformed in the postseason under Forbes.

Arkansas was ranked #14 (rpi) in 2022 and UNC was #11. UNC was playing at home. Host teams win 77% of games in college baseball playoffs. UNC got swept. Last year, UNC was #8 and lost to the #25 team, at home...very rare. 2024 was a great year, maybe the source of people saying Forbes is UNC's "best" coach, because they made the college world series beating the #31 ranked WVU team at home (and most importantly #15 LSU in earlier round at home)...no argument there...but they still didn't exceed expectations in the post season after performing incredibly well during the regular season. That roster was loaded and it ended up being a very good post season draw for my Heels.

Die on your hill brother..

 

[HeelYeah2012]

I'm sorry to ruffle feathers!

I think Forbes has done a great job assembling talented teams. His talented teams have played up tight in the postseason. He has time to grow as a coach since UNC is his first head coaching job (similar to Hubert Davis).

My opinion, on a message board of opinions, is that treating the last game against Arizona as "just another game" as reported by IC was a factor in the team playing up tight. Most sports psychologists would advise acceptance that a loss ends the season is a critical first step to performing well under that pressure which exists even if you pretend it doesn't. The players knew the last game was win or go home and not just another game. But I wasn't in the locker room and don't really know why UNC has underperformed in the postseason under Forbes.

Arkansas was ranked #14 (rpi) in 2022 and UNC was #11. UNC was playing at home. Host teams win 77% of games in college baseball playoffs. UNC got swept. Last year, UNC was #8 and lost to the #25 team, at home...very rare. 2024 was a great year, maybe the source of people saying Forbes is UNC's "best" coach, because they made the college world series beating the #31 ranked WVU team at home (and most importantly #15 LSU in earlier round at home)...no argument there...but they still didn't exceed expectations in the post season after performing incredibly well during the regular season. That roster was loaded and it ended up being a very good post season draw for my Heels.

You’re acting like us beating LSU was chalk and losing to Arkansas was an upset.

And I’m telling you that LSU and Arkansas pour so many more resources into their baseball programs than we do, to a point where us being on any kind of level playing field with with those two schools is a testament to our current coaching staff.

Our results right now are WAY better than our investment level. And our results are WAY better than our fan support.

 

[UNC76]

In 2022, Arkansas was the #4 team in the country in the 2nd week of May, but started struggling and lost 6 of their final 8 games to just miss being a regional host. However, they regained their prior form to win their regional. OTOH, we weren't even ranked until we won the ACC tournament, which vaulted us to the #10 seed. Even then, Arkansas was ranked ahead of us in the coaches poll on Selection Day, heading into the NCAA tourney.

As I mentioned earlier, Arizona had outscored their final 6 opponents 49-9 heading to the Chapel Hill Super, making them one of the hottest teams in the tournament. Yes, we were definitely favored, but losing to them wasn't like dook losing at home to unranked Murray State, or us losing to unranked St Johns as the #6 national seed in 2012, or losing as the #2 national seed to Davidson in 2017. Those qualify as massive upsets.

 

[HeelYeah2012]

Very often, a postseason baseball series between two good teams can go either way. Just like we could’ve easily beaten Arizona, we also could’ve lost to Oklahoma or LSU or VCU in winner take all games at the Bosh the last few years (all of which we won).

For me personally I just want UNC to be consistent and be in the conversation regularly. We’ve done that the last several years in baseball and I’m proud of the consistent product we’ve been putting on the field.

In particular, the LSU regional weekend took this program back to a new level it hadn’t been at since 2006-2013, IMO. That was such a great weekend to be a Carolina Baseball fan, and last year’s team kept the momentum going.

 

[TheManitowocManiac]

The team went 28-27 in 2021 and lost to UCLA in the postseason. Got swept by Arkansas as a home favorite in 2022. Lost to Iowa in 2023. Beat LSU in extra innings (then WVU) to make the college world series in 2024. Lost as home favorite to Arizona in 2025.

The team has underperformed their seeding in the postseason for whatever reasons.

l o l

 

[AntNews?]

Guys we’ve hosted 3 super regionals in four years…Forbes isn’t even a debate.

 

[CoopCupp]

coach Forbes’ program is THE standard for UNC athletics

 

[UNC76]

coach Forbes’ program is THE standard for UNC men's athletics

FIFY... sad but true that other than baseball, most of our men's teams have left a lot to be desired in recent years. Meanwhile, field hockey, women's lax. women's tennis and women's soccer have all won recent national championships.

 

[TommyAshley]

I'm sorry to ruffle feathers!

I think Forbes has done a great job assembling talented teams. His talented teams have played up tight in the postseason. He has time to grow as a coach since UNC is his first head coaching job (similar to Hubert Davis).

My opinion, on a message board of opinions, is that treating the last game against Arizona as "just another game" as reported by IC was a factor in the team playing up tight. Most sports psychologists would advise acceptance that a loss ends the season is a critical first step to performing well under that pressure which exists even if you pretend it doesn't. The players knew the last game was win or go home and not just another game. But I wasn't in the locker room and don't really know why UNC has underperformed in the postseason under Forbes.

Arkansas was ranked #14 (rpi) in 2022 and UNC was #11. UNC was playing at home. Host teams win 77% of games in college baseball playoffs. UNC got swept. Last year, UNC was #8 and lost to the #25 team, at home...very rare. 2024 was a great year, maybe the source of people saying Forbes is UNC's "best" coach, because they made the college world series beating the #31 ranked WVU team at home (and most importantly #15 LSU in earlier round at home)...no argument there...but they still didn't exceed expectations in the post season after performing incredibly well during the regular season. That roster was loaded and it ended up being a very good post season draw for my Heels.

LSU won the natty in '23 and '25. One team kept them from three-peating.

Someone already aired out Arkansas's place and 'Zona was smoking hot and has a ridiculous baseball tradition as well and a great coach and program.

Baseball is different than every other sport IMO in that it takes exactly one person to beat you on any given day. And you can't double or triple team them to stop it, you can blitz them to make them uncomfortable. If they are hot, dealing and shoving, one person can beat anyone.

Winning is hard. If it were easy, everyone would do it.

 

[23Jordan23]

LSU won the natty in '23 and '25. One team kept them from three-peating.

Someone already aired out Arkansas's place and 'Zona was smoking hot and has a ridiculous baseball tradition as well and a great coach and program.

Baseball is different than every other sport IMO in that it takes exactly one person to beat you on any given day. And you can't double or triple team them to stop it, you can blitz them to make them uncomfortable. If they are hot, dealing and shoving, one person can beat anyone.

Winning is hard. If it were easy, everyone would do it.

Completely agree, excelling in post season college baseball is tough & again Forbes has done a wonderful job assembling talented teams in Chapel Hill. Also Forbes is being judged against Mike Fox who has the best record of any UNC head coach...its tough replacing a legend...7 College World Series appearances, 4 straight from 2006-2009, back to back national championship series, etc. That kind of success will likely never be replicated by anybody at UNC.

 

[TarHeelColby10]

Completely agree, excelling in post season college baseball is tough & again Forbes has done a wonderful job assembling talented teams in Chapel Hill. Also Forbes is being judged against Mike Fox who has the best record of any UNC head coach...its tough replacing a legend...7 College World Series appearances, 4 straight from 2006-2009, back to back national championship series, etc. That kind of success will likely never be replicated by anybody at UNC.

I’d say Scott is well on his way to doing so

 

[akillesheel17]

I’d say Scott is well on his way to doing so

Yeah I don't really see how one can take a birds-eye view of Forbes' tenure thus far and not see that given a similar amount of time, it's not unlikely he makes 7 Omaha trips. It makes it easier to have taken over the program from Fox than the job that Fox inherited, so it's not necessarily a judgement on the quality of the two, but still. It took Forbes half the time it took Fox to make their first CWS appearances.

 

[TarHeelColby10]

Yeah I don't really see how one can take a birds-eye view of Forbes' tenure thus far and not see that given a similar amount of time, it's not unlikely he makes 7 Omaha trips. It makes it easier to have taken over the program from Fox than the job that Fox inherited, so it's not necessarily a judgement on the quality of the two, but still. It took Forbes half the time it took Fox to make their first CWS appearances.

I had the pleasure of having a few conversations with Forbes as a recruit, and his energy is infectious. You feel the love from him, even when I was told I probably couldn’t play at Carolina, everything was so genuine. I think that’s a reason and a big one why he’ll be successful for a while, guys like him and want to play for him. They believe in what he says and preaches, no matter how many cliches LOL.

 

[heels2012]

I had the pleasure of having a few conversations with Forbes as a recruit, and his energy is infectious. You feel the love from him, even when I was told I probably couldn’t play at Carolina, everything was so genuine. I think that’s a reason and a big one why he’ll be successful for a while, guys like him and want to play for him. They believe in what he says and preaches, no matter how many cliches LOL.

I park near the Bosh for basketball and have walked back at same time as Forbes and his family after a couple of games. He takes the time to stop and chat with anyone who comes up to him and it’s been great to see many people are clearly following Carolina baseball and care to chat. So far in his tenure, feel like the fanbase has grown significantly which is huge testament to his program.

 

[UNC76]

So far in his tenure, feel like the fanbase has grown significantly which is huge testament to his program.

Now we need that fanbase to show up for more regular season games, particularly the season ticket holders.

We see the same thing with women's hoops, with many empty seats for most games, because a lot of people have purchased the relatively cheap season tickets to guarantee tickets if we host the first 2 rounds of the NCAA tourney. The seats next to mine have been occupied for just 1 of the 10 home games so far. It was even worse for baseball last year, when the seats next to mine were occupied for exactly 2 regular season games... one dook and one wolpfack... and enemy fans were siting there.

 

[23Jordan23]

I’d say Scott is well on his way to doing so

Forbes was a huge part of Fox's success already arriving in 2006 sparking back to back to back to back CWS appearances by our Heels. He has to be the best recruiter in UNC baseball history.

 

[Kdp12]

Sheesh it almost sounds like he’d get better reviews if he lost more games in the regular season. I think it is also important to note that the talent level had really dropped off in Fox’s last year. 2020 was on track to be one of Fox’s worst and the 2021 roster wasn’t that much better (I believe Fox retired in September between those two years). You could argue that Forbes had a big part in putting together those two teams as an assistant but he quickly got this back on track as the head man without the ability to spend big like the SEC. It’s never been easy to get to Omaha but I’d argue it’s harder than ever now with more schools investing in baseball and the SEC taking things a step further. He gets an A for his performance thus far from me

 

[uncbornbred]

I'm sorry to ruffle feathers!

I think Forbes has done a great job assembling talented teams. His talented teams have played up tight in the postseason. He has time to grow as a coach since UNC is his first head coaching job (similar to Hubert Davis).

My opinion, on a message board of opinions, is that treating the last game against Arizona as "just another game" as reported by IC was a factor in the team playing up tight. Most sports psychologists would advise acceptance that a loss ends the season is a critical first step to performing well under that pressure which exists even if you pretend it doesn't. The players knew the last game was win or go home and not just another game. But I wasn't in the locker room and don't really know why UNC has underperformed in the postseason under Forbes.

Arkansas was ranked #14 (rpi) in 2022 and UNC was #11. UNC was playing at home. Host teams win 77% of games in college baseball playoffs. UNC got swept. Last year, UNC was #8 and lost to the #25 team, at home...very rare. 2024 was a great year, maybe the source of people saying Forbes is UNC's "best" coach, because they made the college world series beating the #31 ranked WVU team at home (and most importantly #15 LSU in earlier round at home)...no argument there...but they still didn't exceed expectations in the post season after performing incredibly well during the regular season. That roster was loaded and it ended up being a very good post season draw for my Heels.

well … that”s one person’s opinion

GO HEELS

 

[goheels1117]

I'm sorry to ruffle feathers!

I think Forbes has done a great job assembling talented teams. His talented teams have played up tight in the postseason. He has time to grow as a coach since UNC is his first head coaching job (similar to Hubert Davis).

My opinion, on a message board of opinions, is that treating the last game against Arizona as "just another game" as reported by IC was a factor in the team playing up tight. Most sports psychologists would advise acceptance that a loss ends the season is a critical first step to performing well under that pressure which exists even if you pretend it doesn't. The players knew the last game was win or go home and not just another game. But I wasn't in the locker room and don't really know why UNC has underperformed in the postseason under Forbes.

Arkansas was ranked #14 (rpi) in 2022 and UNC was #11. UNC was playing at home. Host teams win 77% of games in college baseball playoffs. UNC got swept. Last year, UNC was #8 and lost to the #25 team, at home...very rare. 2024 was a great year, maybe the source of people saying Forbes is UNC's "best" coach, because they made the college world series beating the #31 ranked WVU team at home (and most importantly #15 LSU in earlier round at home)...no argument there...but they still didn't exceed expectations in the post season after performing incredibly well during the regular season. That roster was loaded and it ended up being a very good post season draw for my Heels.

Arkansas was more talented than us in 2022 and we lost one of our best players between games 1 and 2. And not having him arguably cost us the game as defense at his position was a factor in the bottom of the 9th inning.

 

[goheels1117]

Winning consistently in the tournament is really hard. Teams to make 3 Super Regionals in the last 4 years: Tennessee (all 4), Oregon State, UNC. That's the list. Doesn't even include the team who's won 2 of the last 3 national titles. Doesn't include Arkansas who lost twice as a regional host in 2023 and 2024. Doesn't include schools like Texas and Texas A&M who have as many resources as anybody could have.

 

[TommyAshley]

First Forbes convo of '26 with Grace and me pinned here....

 

[unctar2001]

Nobody done more with resources available to them at this level in this era in my opinion and he knows how to assemble a staff, scout, develop.

Truly, seems like the only program of the main sports that I feel good about and it’s not bc they have money pouring in either.