Had a dominant season in relief for the Tar Heels, leading the league and nation with a 1.71 ERA...also led Carolina pitchers in saves with seven (second-best in the ACC), in appearances with 36 and was tied for the UNC lead with seven wins...named second-team All-ACC at relief pitcher...also an honorable mention NCBWA All-America pick...won the S.H. Basnight Award as Carolina's Most Valuable Pitcher for the second consecutive year...ranked fourth on the team with 73.2 innings pitched...held batters to a .253 batting average...ranked fourth on the team with 72 strikeouts and walked just 22...allowed just one earned run in his first nine appearances...earned first win of the season against Coastal Carolina on March 4...struck out nine batters and worked 4.1 innings of relief without giving up a run to earn a win against Elon on March 30...pitched brilliantly and picked up the win April 2 at NC State, pitching 3.1 scoreless innings and allowing just two hits...went 3-0 with an ERA of 0.55 the week of April 13-18, allowing one earned run in 16.1 innings pitched while striking out 14...registered a career-high 11 strikeouts in only start of the season, a 7-3 win at Campbell on April 13...also earned wins in next two appearances, both versus Virginia...earned seventh save of the season after pitching 2.2 stellar innings of scoreless relief in series-closing win at Clemson on May 11 ... held the Tigers scoreless in the ninth after Clemson had runners on second and third with no outs...didn't allow a run in two appearances over 5.0 innings at Clemson on May 10-11...earned seventh win of the season in an 8-5 NCAA Tournament victory over Nevada on May 28...struck out five and gave up just one run in 4.2 innings against the Wolfpack. Summer 1999: A Summer All-America selection by Baseball America after outstanding play in Cape Cod Baseball League...set a Cape Cod record with 15 saves for the Chatham Athletics and recorded a 0.00 ERA...was named to the CCBL East Division All-Star team...won the Russ Ford Award, given annually to the league's top relief pitcher.

As a Sophomore (1998)
One of the ACC's best pitchers, ranking fifth in the conference in ERA (3.15) and first in appearances (44)...Jase Wrigley of Georgia Tech finished second in the ACC in appearances with 30 ... broke the UNC school record for pitching appearances in a season with 44, topping the old mark of 38 by Thad Chrismon, set in 1993 ... the ACC record is 45, set by Georgia Tech's Jim Poole in 1988 ... his 43 relief appearances were also a UNC record...led Carolina in saves with seven, in innings with 114.1 and in appearances with 44...tied for the team lead with seven wins...pitched the fourth-highest inning total in school history in 1998...the last UNC pitcher to pitch more innings in a season was Derek Manning, who had 117.2 innings in 1993...won the S.H. Basnight Award as Carolina's Most Valuable Pitcher in 1998...pitched 7.2 innings of relief and picked up a win at Virginia March 27, allowing just one earned run and striking out five ... during the week of Apr. 13-19, pitched in all five of Carolina's games and compiled an ERA of 2.23 in 12.1 innings while picking up three saves ... had the longest outing of his career, starting and going 9.0 innings in a no-decision against N.C. State Apr. 26 ... pitched four scoreless innings in relief against Duke in the ACC Tournament, picking up his seventh save ... pitched in three of UNC's four ACC Tournament games. 1998 NCAA Atlantic I Regional -- Pitched in all five of UNC's NCAA Tournament games, earning three wins...was named to the Atlantic I Regional all-tournament team...posted an ERA of 2.25 in his five NCAA Regional appearances (four earned runs in 16.0 innings) with 16 strikeouts, two walks and 12 hits allowed...picked up a win over #1-ranked Miami at the Atlantic I Regional May 22, allowing one run in 4.0 innings of relief ... earned a win for the second straight day against Florida International May 23 in the NCAA Atlantic I Regional, striking out seven and allowing just four hits and one run in 6.0 innings...also got the win against South Carolina, pitching 2.1 shutout innings while fanning three. Summer 1998: Appeared in two games for the Durham Braves of the Coastal Plain League, going 1-0 with an ERA of 1.80.

As a Freshman (1997)
Allowed just one run and struck out four in eight innings in his first collegiate start, an 8-1 win over Virginia Commonwealth on March 12 to earn his first career win ... allowed two runs in 5.1 innings of effective relief in his first college appearance vs. Connecticut March 3 ... switched to a submariner delivery prior to the Clemson series ... effective in relief at Florida State May 11, holding the Seminoles hitless and scoreless in 1.1 innings and striking out two ... played summer ball with the Roxboro Rangers and with the South Florida Mariners ... redshirted the 1996 season.

Prep
Played four years as a pitcher and first baseman at South Dade H.S. ... team captain as a senior ... as a junior, pitched two innings of relief and picked up the save in a district semifinal game ... came back the next day and threw a complete game to win the district title ... later that spring, threw a one-hitter in the state playoffs but lost, 1-0 ... played a year of soccer and two years of football ... National Honor Society member.

Personal
Derrick James DePriest is the son of Craig DePriest and Cheryl Thomas ... born 11/21/76 ... majoring in exercise and sports science.