Scott Forbes calls Mac Horvath a 'special kid'

North Carolina baseball saw its season end in Terre Haute over the weekend as a pair of losses to Iowa ultimately sunk their quest to make the College World Series. While it’s a time of great sadness, the end of the year also provides an opportunity to reflect on the season as a whole as well as the players who will leave the program.

For Tar Heel head coach Scott Forbes, one guy he’ll definitely miss is junior Mac Horvath, a home run machine and a likely 2023 MLB Draft pick.

“Yeah, he’s a special kid, man,” shared Forbes after the second Iowa loss. “I’ve watched it unfold in front of my own eyes, just his maturity. And that’s what coaching’s about, at least it is for me. You know, the world is the world. I do it for different reasons, and the main reason is to watch these guys become men and watch them leave our program better. And I firmly believe if you do that, the winning takes care of itself.”

Forbes was clearly emotional about saying goodbye to Horvath, as was the player himself after the final loss, which reporters asked Forbes about.

“Obviously, I mean, he’s a draft-able guy. But like, with something in particular, when you know that it probably was your last game in college, it’s just the Brotherhood,” the UNC head coach said. He then went on to open up and talk about some of his old players while explaining the bonds these athletes make while they’re in college.

“And, you know, I was talking to Andrew Miller not long ago and Kyle Seager. You know, Major League careers. But these are their guys. You make friends, but it’s more of a business and you just never forget your time, those three years or four years when you’re in college, and that’s why it hurts so bad. And Mac, you know, it hurts even more.”

Per Coach Forbes, Horvath was a player who did it all the right way.

“I’m a firm believer when you do everything right and you leave it on the field, you know, I told him in the dugouts, I mean, you’ve left our program in a phenomenal spot. Because he’s, you know, his first year was my first year as a head coach. He completely bought into everything we were trying to do and he has led every single day, and that’s why our culture is what it is.”

Knowing the Tar Heel slugger will almost certainly turn pro after sort of surprising folks and returning last summer, it was a sweet but bitter goodbye. He’ll be sorely missed.