Folger Boaz, Jake Knapp injury updates: Scott Forbes shares how close UNC pitchers are to return

Injuries became a major part of the storyline for the North Carolina Tar Heels baseball team in 2024. That’s something that head coach Scott Forbes is going to look to avoid going into this upcoming season.

One key is going to be getting pitchers Folger Boaz and Jake Knapp back and healthy for the season after they both went down with season-ending injuries last year. Luckily, it looks like they’re both going to be good to go for this season.

“You can see the smile that just came to my face,” Scott Forbes said. “They’re both back. Folger is further along than Jake. Folger is good to go. He had the bracing. The same surgery that Max Carlson had that Dalton Pence had. He had it about the same time that Carlson had it.”

Going into the 2024 season, Knapp was expected to be the Friday night starter for UNC. However, when he went down he was replaced by Boaz. That is, until Boaz went down too.

“I just don’t believe in excuses. We talk about it all the time…they’re lies but when Jake went down it was before the season. So, we knew we weren’t gonna have Jake,” Forbes said. “When we lost Folger it was like, okay, how are we going to withstand this and can we overcome it? And that’s just a credit to our players because as the head coach I thought and our staff thought this is going to be difficult to overcome, and guys stepped up. But, to have those guys back, is just unbelievable — not just because they’re so talented.”

For the 2024 season, Folger Boaz threw 39 innings and had an ERA of 5.77 with a 1.178 WHIP. That came in nine games, all of which he started, and saw him strike out 38 batters and walk another 19.

Jake Knapp, meanwhile, hasn’t pitched in college since 2023. That season, he threw 64.1 innings in 16 games, all of which he started. Knapp had an ERA of 5.04 with a 1.601 WHIP. He had 65 strikeouts and 36 walks on the season.

“Jake’s going to be ready too. If it was up to Jake, Jake was ready today. Jake is older. He came to my office and said, ‘I don’t want a pitch count if I’m a starter, and I don’t want you to tell me how many days rest I need if I’m a reliever.’ How many guys do that in today’s world? Here’s a prospect, gigantic kid. I told him if you go over to football, you got on a meal plan, you could be an offensive lineman. That’s how big he is, but he looks great. He’s throwing a ton of strikes in his bullpens,” Forbes said.

“According to Jake, he’s ready to be at a year for the full repair, early February, and he said that’s plenty of time and that he’s going to be ready to go February 14th. Now, he looks like he’s ready, but we’ll see. We’re excited to have him back.”

UNC will need everyone ready relatively soon. The Tar Heels open the season on Friday, February 14th against Texas Tech. Luckily, Forbes knows his pitchers are working hard to be there for opening night.

“There’s more to it than just their talent. To see them work, to see how hard they’ve worked since the day they got hurt and injured, to where they are now — again, it’s a credit to them. They’re ready because of their work ethic,” Forbes concluded.