Staff report

Former South Rowan standout Kane Kepley made it official with a Facebook announcement on Wednesday that he’s transferring from Liberty University to UNC.

UNC had multiple outfielders chosen early in the recent MLB Draft, including All-America Vance Honeycutt (Salisbury), a first-rounder, so there are some holes to fill.

Kepley was able to enter the transfer portal later than the July 2 deadline because Liberty head coach Scott Jackson resigned from the program. Jackson has returned to an assistant coaching role at UNC and will be the recruiting coordinator.

While Kepley will be a junior in eligibility, he likely will be a one-year player for the Tar Heels. He lacks ideal size at 5-foot-8, but MLB scouts have fallen in love with his high contact rates, energy, defense, bat speed and running speed, and he is on track to be drafted pretty early in 2025.

As a high school player, Kepley starred in center field for coach Thad Chrismon’s 2022 state champions, batting .383 for South Rowan with a .518 on-base percentage. He scored 47 runs. His 41 hits included nine doubles and he had 33 steals. He shared South Piedmont Conference Player of the Year honors with teammate Ty Hubbard, who now plays at Catawba.

Kepley, a 20-year-old who bats and throws left-handed, was still relatively unheralded when he arrived at Liberty, but he quickly earned a starting spot as a freshman. He batted .310 and scored 44 runs.

As a sophomore, he exploded. He led Liberty in batting average (.330), hits (71), runs (57), total bases (112), walks (53) and stolen bases (25) and his power numbers picked up. As a lead-off man, he had nine home runs and 31 RBIs in 58 games.

Kepley starred for High Point-Thomasville in the Coastal Plain League in the summer of 2023 and has more than held his own in the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League, the top college league, this summer. In 26 games, he has a .467 OBP, 15 steals and 24 runs. He’s hit two homers. He’s walked 30 times while striking out 14 times.

Liberty pitcher Cale Bolton also has transferred to UNC.

UNC still has former East Rowan pitcher Cameron Padgett, a rising junior who is pitching in the Cape Cod Baseball League.

Recent East Rowan grad Cobb Hightower signed with UNC, but he was a third-round pick by San Diego and is likely to join the pro ranks.