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The North Carolina Tar Heels can almost taste it. They are going back to the College World Series Finals for the first time since 2007, and manager Scott Forbes sees a lot of parallels between the two teams.
UNC is 3-0 so far in Omaha with two wins over West Virginia and a win over Ole Miss to reach the College World Series final. North Carolina will face Oklahoma. The Tar Heels’ pitching staff has been strong in Omaha, and their offense has gotten the job done as well. In their three wins, they are outscoring their opponents 23-11.
Jun 17, 2026; Omaha, NE, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Scott Forbes talks on the mound against the West Virginia Mountaineers during the seventh inning at Charles Schwab Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images | Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images
The No. 5-ranked team in the country has had all the makings of a national title contender all season, and they’ve proven that they are just that so far in the postseason. Now, they are coming ever so close to earning their first National Championship in program history.
How This Team Stacks Up to Previous Contenders
This year’s team has drawn lots of comparisons to the last set of teams to make it this far. The 2006 Tar Heels finished with a 54-15 record and advanced all the way to the College World Series final, where they’d come up short and lose in the championship series to the Oregon State Beavers.
Jun 17, 2026; Omaha, NE, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels pitcher Cameron Padgett (15) throws against the West Virginia Mountaineers during the seventh inning at Charles Schwab Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images | Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images
The next season followed an eerily similar script. The 2007 Tar Heels finished with a 56-14 record, winning the ACC regular season and tournament crowns, and advancing to the College World Series final once again, where they would come up just short, finishing as the runner-up for the second straight season after losing the championship series to a familiar foe — the Oregon State Beavers.
Forbes was part of both those teams as an assistant coach. Now leading the program, he sees stark similarities between his current group and those mid-2000s teams that nearly got the ultimate job done.
Forbes’ Thoughts
Jun 17, 2026; Omaha, NE, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels third baseman Cooper Nicholson (1) throws to first against the West Virginia Mountaineers during the seventh inning at Charles Schwab Field. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images
“That ’06 team, they loved each other. They had a lot of fun together. This team’s the same. I picked up on that. They’re a tough group. They want to win. They put winning first over everything else. And that team did that,” Forbes said.
“So there’s a ton of similarities. I can’t wait to text back the ’06 text chain group that I’ll get. And there will be some hilarious texts. That’s why you coach. But they do have similarities. Built similar type teams. I’m glad that I was there and can look back on that and hopefully use that to help us a little bit.”
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