Staff report
CHICAGO — He won’t get paid any extra for it, but Kane Kepley has to be one of the best baseball names since Mickey Mantle.
Kepley is a hero for 5-foot-8 guys all over the world. The former South Rowan High star and former Liberty University star is now officially a former UNC star, as well.
Kepley still had a year of college eligibility left, he enjoyed life with the Tar Heels, and he may have worked his way into being a first-round pick in 2026, but Kepley opted to become a pro over the weekend. Now he’s a member of the Chicago Cubs organization.
Kepley, 21, is a millionaire. He didn’t get full slot value as the 56th pick, a second-rounder in the recent MLB draft, but he got about 83 percent of slot. Slot was $1,680,000. Kepley signed for $1,400,000, which is a nice chunk of change for a kid from Faith, N.C.
The Cubs and Kepley’s advisor likely had a dollar figure agreed upon before they drafted him.
Kepley has come far in a short time — he was a walk-on at Liberty after graduating from high school in 2022 — and he’s made that climb with a hard-to-match intensity and work ethic. Kepley dove for balls in practice in high school, and he dove for balls in college. He dove for balls in pregame warmups in the Cape Cod Baseball League in the summer of 2024, and that’s when the MLB scouts started realizing he was something special.
Kepley’s strengths are obvious.
An offensive pest who drives pitchers crazy, he battles his way on base so frequently that he was third in the ACC in runs scored despite a .291 batting average. His contact skills are considered elite. He walked twice as much as he struck out. He had more HBPs than strikeouts.
He is fast and is also an outstanding base runner. Those two things aren’t always found in the same package. Some speedsters just run into outs. Kepley’s 45 steals were second in the ACC, and he was safe more than 90 percent of the time. He stole more bases than the full rosters of 60 D-I programs.
Kepley is a terrific outfielder as far as going after the ball in center field, either going back or charging in. Not everyone is good at both. His throwing arm is rated as average by MLB standards, but with his quickness getting to balls, he should be able to play center in the big leagues.
The knock on Kepley is lack of power, but he’s not just a singles hitter. He led the ACC with seven triples. He only hit three homers in his one season at UNC, but he hit 14 in two years at Liberty. He also socked three homers against top-notch arms in the Cape Cod League with a wood bat in the summer of 2024. He’s strong for his size, and he’ll pull inside pitches for doubles, triples and homers.
The Cubs are very good this season. They’ll be one of the teams to closely monitor at the trade deadline. Now that they have Kepley and first-round pick Ethan Conrad (Wake Forest) under contract, they could be dealing minor league outfield prospects to secure help at third base and on the mound.
The Cubs already have one prominent Tar Heel in their lineup. First baseman Michael Busch has been outstanding this season. It’s possible another Tar Heel is on the way.
You also must remember that, with the way the MLB Draft works, it’s likely that the Cubs and Kepley’s representatives agreed to a signing bonus figure before making the actual pick. This is strategically done in order to ensure that the player doesn’t return to the college ranks, as Kepley could’ve elected to return for another season with the UNC baseball program.
Kepley is bringing his speed and athleticism with him to the Chicago Cubs organization, as his story to get to this point is simply remarkable. From being a walk-on at Liberty to transferring to North Carolina and being an instant sparkplug at the top of the everyday lineup, Kepley worked extremely hard to put himself in this position, as even he probably would’ve never guessed that he would end up being a second round pick in the MLB Draft.
Now, the Cubs have officially signed their top two draft picks, as Ethan Conrad (No. 17 overall) and Kepley are under contract. We’ll have to wait and see what type of signing bonus fellow Tar Heel Jake Knapp gets from the Cubs organization, as his deal could also be completed in the near future.
