Skip to main content
Join Now
Team Avatar
North Carolina

Jackson Van De Brake admits UNC believes they are better than the No. 5 seed in NCAA Tournament

Danby: Daniel Hager05/28/25DanielHagerOn3
Jackson-Van-De-Brake-admits-UNC-believes-they-better-than-seed-NCAA-Tournament
Jun 14, 2024; Omaha, NE, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels infielder Jackson Van De Brake (6) celebrates after hitting a double during the ninth inning against the Virginia Cavaliers at Charles Schwab Filed Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

North Carolina is headed back to the NCAA Tournament for the eighth consecutive season, where it will host a Regional in Chapel Hill for the sixth time in eight years.

As the No. 5 overall seed in the entire Tournament, the Tar Heels can maintain home field advantage through both Regional and Super Regional play. Carolina was matched up with No. 2 seed Oklahoma, No. 3 Nebraska and No. 4 Holy Cross, with play beginning on Friday.

Senior second baseman Jackson Van De Brake, who has played all four seasons at Carolina and was a member of the 2024 Men’s College World Series team, wasn’t too happy with their national seed.

“I mean yeah but it doesn’t matter,” Van De Brake responded when asked if he believed North Carolina deserved a higher seed. “I think that we knew we were going to be top eight and after that it kind of doesn’t make much difference. We do in general think we are better than a five seed so I think we can use that as some fuel. Aside from that, I think it’s a good draw. Whoever it ended up being we were gonna take it and we’re confident going into this weekend.”

The four teams ranked ahead of North Carolina were No. 1 Vanderbilt, No. 2 Texas, No. 3 Arkansas and No. 4 Auburn (all teams from the Southeastern Conference).

North Carolina won ninth ACC Tournament in program history

North Carolina finished the regular season with a 39-12 (18-11) record, good enough to earn the No. 3 seed in the ACC Tournament. The Tar Heels ran the table and took down No. 3 seed Clemson in the ACC Tournament Championship to win their ninth conference tournament title in program history. Sitting at No. 6 in the RPI Rankings, North Carolina was actually placed a national seed higher. The Tar Heels were 10-5 against Q1 teams, 16-5 against Q2 teams, 7-2 against Q3 teams and 9-0 against Q4 teams.

With Regional play beginning on Friday, debate over whether a not a team was over-seeded or under-seeded has become mute. Van De Brake, who is hitting for a .317 average with 15 doubles, six home runs and 52 RBIs this season, will attempt to lead his Tar Heels back to Omaha for the second consecutive season for the first time since 2008-09.

The Tar Heels open Regional play against No. 4 Holy Cross on Friday at noon on the ACC Network.