Skip Johnson declares North Carolina a national championship contender

North Carolina is on to the Super Regionals for the second time in as many seasons, and a dozenth time all-time, after winning the Chapel Hill Regional on Monday. Now, the skipper of the team that they played the most this past weekend thinks the Tar Heels can be good enough to win it all in Omaha.

Skip Johnson and catcher Easton Carmichael for Oklahoma were finishing up their postgame press conference, following a 14-4 loss to UNC, when Johnson asked for another moment. He used that time to tell those in the room that North Carolina is capable of winning the 2025 College World Series.

“You guys have a team here that can win a national championship. I can tell you that,” Johnson said.

“They’re good. they’re really good. They can run. They can do a lot of things. You guys should be proud of that.”

With the regional clinching win by ten runs over OU, North Carolina moved to 45-13 overall. That’s among the best records nationally this season, and among the best of the sixteen teams still in the field as of this morning. That’s coming off of a win of the ACC Championship, which earned them a top-five overall seed in the 2025 NCAA Baseball Tournament. That’s also with a 3-1 record over the course of the Chapel Hill Regional, which the Tar Heels took with a 4-0 shutout of Holy Cross before respective outcomes of an 11-5 win, a 9-5 loss, and then the 14-4 win over Oklahoma.

North Carolina will now play Arizona, the winner of the Eugene Reginal, in their Super Regional for the right to go to the CWS. It’d be their 13th appearance and second straight after making it to Charles Schwab Field last summer. That event could now be very wide open once those final eight teams get there, at least considering half of the top-sixteen national, hosting seeds were eliminated over the past four days.

Oklahoma did not have to be as complimentary to the team that just ended their own season. Still, Johnson took the little time to endorse North Carolina as a possible title team as they advance in the tournament.

Recap of regional win for North Carolina over Oklahoma

North Carolina 14, Oklahoma 4

The Tar Heels opened the game with a three-run first inning, setting the tone for what would be a one-sided scoreboard all afternoon. The Sooners earned a couple of runs back in the second inning, but five runs between the fourth and fifth innings put North Carolina in full control of the matchup. UNC added three insurance runs in the eighth inning to round out their 15-hit day. Alex Madera finished the game 3-of-4 at the plate with two RBIs and a walk. The Tar Hills win the Chapel Hill Regional and will host their Super Regional against Arizona this weekend.