Scott Forbes announces UNC star OF Vance Honeycutt won't play in regional with lower back injury

North Carolina head coach Scott Forbes revealed some troubling news Monday following the announcement of the official full field of 64 and bracket matchups for the NCAA baseball tournament. The Tar Heels were designated to the Terre Haute Regional hosted by Indiana State, and will face Iowa in their regional matchup Friday June 2, but they’ll have to do so without one of their biggest key contributors.

According to Inside Carolina’s Adam Smith, Forbes announced Monday that star outfielder Vance Honeycutt will not play this week in the NCAA regionals due to a lower-back injury.

The sophomore center fielder took home the 2023 ACC Defensive Player of the Year award and has been a major catalyst for North Carolina’s success this season, also earning Third-Team All-ACC honors for the second consecutive time in career.

In the regular season, Honeycutt ranked second on the team in home runs with 12 and runs with 51, also piling up 49 base on balls which ranked third in the conference

Honeycutt hasn’t appeared in the Tar Heels lineup since May 13 in the team’s series versus NC State, as Vance rested his center fielder in the ACC Tournament with hopes of him making a return for NCAA tournament play. Unfortunately, it appears the rest was not enough for Honeycutt to make a full recovery, and it will be intriguing to see if he can make a return if the team advanced further in the tournament.

The Tar Heels square off with the Hawkeyes this Friday at  7 p.m. on ACC Network.

More on Vance Honeycutt

Vance Honeycutt did not hesitate to have an instant impact upon his arrival at Chapel Hill. He was a Consensus Freshman All-American in 2022 after posting a .296 batting average with 73 hits and ranking first on the team with 25 home runs and 66 runs in his first-ever collegiate season.

He also proved himself as a clutch player on the biggest stages, most notable earning the ACC Baseball Championship Most Outstanding Player last season where he homered twice and drove in five runs in the conference title game to secure UNC’s eighth ACC Tournament Championship win.

His clutch hitting and golden glove in the outfield will be a significant loss for the Tar Heels heading into the Terre Haute Regional, as North Carolina will keep their fingers crossed that they can win without him and that his lingering back issue can be healed soon.