CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WNCN) – University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill outfielder Vance Honeycutt earned his second Freshman All-America honor Monday afternoon, earning first team accolades from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). This is the second Freshman All-America honor for the first-year who was originally given the honor by Collegiate Baseball earlier this month.
“The more I watch Vance the more I really believe that he could leave here (as) one of the best we’ve ever had because of his make-up and his work ethic,” UNC head coach Scott Forbes said. “He’s got the talent, but he’s got the work ethic, too, and that’s the thing that makes him so special.”
Honeycutt saw his freshman campaign come to an end on Sunday in the NCAA Super Regionals. But, his season statistics ranked second among all NCAA Division I freshman in home runs (25), runs scored (66) and total bases (166). He also ranked third in slugging percentage (.672) and stolen bases (29), as well as fourth in triples (4).
“He’s the best baseball player I’ve ever seen in my life,” UNC senior second baseman Mikey Madej said earlier this week about Honeycutt. “I’ve been around the game a long time, (I’m) almost 25 now, I’ve seen a lot of good players and a lot of guys in the big leagues right now that I’ve played with or against.”
He continued, “He’s got every single tool, it’s like the definition of a five-tool guy. He’s pretty exciting to watch.”
Honeycutt is already breaking Tar Heel records, setting the single-season record for home runs and becoming the first player in program history to hit 20 long balls and steal 20 bases in the same season. Additionally, he finished the season ranked among the top 10 in the ACC in stolen bases (second), home runs (fourth), triples (fourth) and runs (10th).