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Chad Holbrook, now in his 15th year as a member of the Carolina coaching staff, has been a part of the Tar Heel baseball program since coming to Chapel Hill as a freshman in the fall of 1989. An assistant coach since the 1995 season, he is in his first year as the Tar Heels' associate head coach. Holbrook also serves as UNC's recruiting coordinator and has earned a reputation as one of the nation's best. After an outstanding career as a player from 1990-93, the Shelby, N.C., native served as an undergraduate assistant coach during the spring of 1994 and was named assistant coach in the fall of 1994. Holbrook entered UNC following a trip to the College World Series for the Tar Heels and has been an instrumental part of helping the program return to Omaha over the last two seasons. In addition to his duties as recruiting coordinator, Holbrook assists in all aspects of the Carolina program and works most directly with Carolina's outfielders and hitters. Under his direction, UNC hit .315 as a team in 2007 and has posted four of the top eight hitting seasons in school history - including three of the top four - since 2000. The 2002 Tar Heels registered a school-record .325 mark. In Holbrook's 14 seasons on the UNC coaching staff, the Tar Heels have made 10 NCAA Tournament appearances and two trips to the College World Series. Last year's team captured Carolina's first ACC title since Holbrook's freshman season of 1990. "Chad is a true Tar Heel," said head coach Mike Fox, when he promoted Holbrook to associate head coach this past June. "His hard work and dedication to this program and the University has been unmatched over the last 14 years. Chad was instrumental in the transition when I came to Carolina in 1999 and he has been an invaluable part of our staff ever since. He is recognized as one of the country's top recruiters and has helped build our program into what it is today." Holbrook and the Tar Heels have enjoyed great success on the recruiting trail over the last few seasons, landing the nation's No. 1 class in 2004, the No. 11 class in 2005 and the No. 6 class in 2007. These classes have been the backbone of the Carolina's back-to-back College World Series clubs and have led UNC to a combined 111 wins over the last two seasons, which is second nationally. UNC's 2008 group of freshmen was recently rated No. 7 nationally by Collegiate Baseball. Since 1999, Holbrook has helped to recruit and coach six first-round draft picks, including current major leaguers Andrew Miller, Brian Roberts and Kyle Snyder. Carolina had six players drafted in June 2007, including four in the first seven rounds, for its most selections since 2000. In addition to his work at Carolina, Holbrook served as the head coach of the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod League in the summer of 1997 and led them to the league's Eastern Division championship. Holbrook's name appears often in the Carolina record book, as he ranks among Carolina's career leaders in hits, runs, games, at-bats and stolen bases. His 14 triples ranked No. 1 in school history until outfielder Adam Greenberg broke the mark in 2002. As Carolina's leadoff hitter, Holbrook set the single-season record for stolen bases with 40 in 1993, a record broken by current Baltimore Oriole all-star Brian Roberts in 1997. Holbrook was named all-tournament at the NCAA Central I Regional in College Station, Texas after hitting .565 (13-23), including three doubles and two triples, in five games. He was a second-team All-ACC selection who hit .353 as a senior. Holbrook earned his bachelor's degree in physical education from North Carolina in 1994. His father, Eddie, coached basketball at Gardner-Webb and Furman. Holbrook married the former Jennifer Hilliard in August 2000. Jennifer works in UNC's men's basketball office as head coach Roy Williams' administrative assistant. They have two sons, Reece, who was born on May 4, 2002, and Cooper, who was born on June 14, 2004. |
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