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OF KANE KEPLEY (LIBERTY TO
NORTH CAROLINA)
The Tar Heels are getting one of the best contact hitters in
the transfer portal. At Liberty, Kepley made some insane numbers contact wise.
It doesn’t matter where you throw it, there is a good chance that Kepley will
hit it. He utilizes the opposite field quite a bit as well. The 5’8, 170lb outfielder doesn’t possess
much raw power but still puts up decent overall exit velos. He’s a plus runner
who can track a ball down decently in the outfield. That speed has also led to
20+ steals in one season at Liberty and two summer ball seasons. The lack of
power, as mentioned, limits his ceiling, but he has a very safe floor due to
his speed, defensive ability, and ability to make contact.
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Kane Kepley
Position: OF
Bats/Throws: L/L
Height: 5-8
Weight: 165
Prev School: South Rowan HS
Hometown: Salisbury, N.C.
2023
2023 ASUN All-Freshman team
Played in 50 games with 40 starts
Started 29 games in left field and 11 games in center field
Hit .310 with 19 RBI and a team-leading 44 runs scored
Had eight doubles, four triples and hit a home run
Walked a team-leading 39 times and posted a .457 on base
percentage
Had 17 stolen bases
Finished the year tied for third in triples, tied for sixth
in stolen bases and 11th in on base percentage in the ASUN
Hit .325, collecting 37 hits and walking 30 times in 30 games
after taking over as the Flames’ leadoff hitter on April 6
Scored 46.6% (34-of-73) of the time that he reached base
after becoming leadoff hitter
Had two hits and a RBI, stole two bases and scored three
times in 12-1 win over Austin Peay (3/24)
Collected three hits, two stolen bases, a RBI and a run
scored in a 9-4 victory at Lipscomb (4/2)
Had two hits against Virginia (4/4)
Went 3-for-4 with a walk and an RBI, scoring three times in
an 11-6 win over Central Arkansas (4/7)
Walked twice and scored twice in a 7-3 victory at Virginia
Tech (4/11)
Collected three hits, two doubles, two RBI and one run scored
in a 9-1 win in game two of a doubleheader at Kennesaw State (4/15)
Walked two times and scored two times in 3-2 victory over Old
Dominion (5/3)
Tied the program record with six hits, hitting for the cycle,
driving in a run and scoring three runs in a 15-12 victory at Eastern Kentucky
(5/14)
Had two hits, including a triple, two RBI and two runs scored
in a 12-11 win over No. 1 seed Lipscomb during pool play at the 2023 ASUN
Baseball Championship (5/23)
Member of the ASUN Academic Honor Roll
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In Saturday's Cape Cod Baseball League All-Star Game, Kane
Kepley – a former Liberty Flame and now North Carolina Tar Heel – drove in the
winning run with an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth to clinch the game
for the West Division. If that clutch performance doesn't fit the profile of a
UNC outfielder, what does?
With the Major League Draft claiming all three - Vance
Honeycutt, Anthony Donofrio and Casey Cook - of the elite Diamond Heels
outfield trio, head coach Scott Forbes has turned to the transfer portal and
old friendships to rebuild. With the addition of assistant coach and former
Liberty head coach Scott Jackson, Kepley, an outfielder who hails from
Sailsbury, N.C. has followed suit.
Kepley had two productive seasons with the Flames. He was
named to the ASUN All-Freshman team in his first year and slached
.326/.477/.514 in his second season for the Flames. He has a knack for getting
on base, recording a stellar 0.51 strikeout-to-walk rate, with 53 walks to 26
strikeouts in his sophomore campaign.
This summer, Kepley has done more of the same with the CCBL's
Hyannis Harbor Hawks where he's slashing .236/.442/.349, earning an All-Star
game bid and proceeding to walk-off the game for the West.
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