UNC baseball star Vance Honeycutt named ACC Defensive Player of The Year…again!

The North Carolina Tar Heels sport one of the most dangerous offenses in college baseball – and a lot of it has to do with star center fielder Vance Honeycutt.

Since missing UNC’s entire postseason in 2023, which ended with an NCAA Regional loss to Iowa in the Terre Haute regional, Honeycutt is putting together a historic offensive campaign.

He’s hitting .319, making him one of seven Diamond Heels with a .300 batting average, hit a team-high 22 home runs and stole a team-best 28 bases in the regular seasons.

Honeycutt also broke the North Carolina program record for home runs, plus he is now the only player in ACC baseball history with 50 career home runs and 70 career stolen bases.

As much offensive attention that Honeycutt gets, he’s arguably an even better defensive outfielder.

Not only was Honeycutt recognized Monday afternoon as a member of the All-ACC First Team, but as the ACC’s Defensive Player of the Year – for the second season in a row.

If you think you saw Vance Honeycutt’s defensive highlights on television, you are correct. He’s made the SportsCenter Top 10 in the past, plus he consistently climbs the wall for home run-robbing catches.

Honeycutt’s numbers solidify his defensive prowess. He is second on UNC with 148 putouts and carries a .987 fielding percentage. Errors are hard to come by for Honeycutt, as he has just two on the year.

If opposing hitters start rocking Diamond Heels pitchers this postseason, you can count on Honeycutt being a magnet with his glove in center.

Being named ACC Defensive Player of the Year once is impressive, but consecutive seasons is practically unheard of.

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