Kane Kepley (52) surrounded by South Rowan folks.
By Mike London
Salisbury Post
SALISBURY — It’s been almost non-stop baseball for Chicago Cubs prospect Kane Kepley even after his 2025 season officially ended.
“I just about lived in Arizona during the fall months,” the South Rowan graduate and former UNC Tar Heel said. “Now it’s good to be home and spending the holidays at the lake and with the family.”
Kepley is having to make a mental adjustment, from a guy that just about everyone doubted, to a guy that just about everyone is praising after he turned in an explosive professional debut with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans following last summer’s draft. He’s become a favorite of the publication, Baseball America, which gives him a 2028 MLB ETA, although that’s a timetable Kepley is working hard to beat.
Kepley has been leaping up the various ranking lists for Cubs prospects since the 2025 season ended. He’s as high as sixth now.
“The one thing I can promise you is the chip-on-the-shoulder is always going to be there no matter what the rankings say,” Kepley said. “The doubters always have been a blessing for me. That’s what’s gotten me to where I am now. It doesn’t matter all that much that people are saying nice things about me. I’m never going to lose the chip.”
Kepley’s back story is well known, but it’s worth reviewing because it’s pretty unique for a 21-year-old — he turns 22 on Valentine’s Day — who is now widely regarded as a future major leaguer.
Kepley was a sensational high school center fielder at South Rowan, the lead-off man and catalyst for coach Thad Chrismon’s 2022 3A state champs, but his stature (5-foot-8) and lack of homers meant zero D-I scholarship offers. Liberty University offered him a walk-on spot on the team. It didn’t take Kepley long to become a starter at Liberty because he out-worked everyone. By his second season, he was a star for the Flames.
For his third and what turned out to be final college season, Kepley followed Liberty head coach Scott Jackson to Chapel Hill. Jackson had coached Liberty for eight seasons, but he was returning for a second stint at UNC as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. Kepley was counted on as the center fielder who would replace another Rowan County product, Vance Honeycutt, the former Salisbury High star who had been the best power/speed athlete in the proud history of the UNC baseball program and a first-round draft pick by Baltimore.
Kepley, a lefty hitter and thrower, proved to be equally as dazzling in center field and on the bases as Honeycutt, although their games in the batter’s box are much different. Honeycutt possesses enormous power, but he also has issues with swing-and-miss. Kepley makes steady contact. He’s an on-base machine, a lead-off guy who consistently posts incredible contact rates and on-base percentages. His OBPs at Liberty were .457 and .482. His OBP in the Cape Cod Baseball League was .444. Moving up to the ACC with the Tar Heels, his OBP was .451. He stole 45 bases for the Heels, while walking a ton and rarely striking out.
Kepley’s 5-foot-8 frame didn’t faze the Cubs, who liked the speed, the defense and mostly his ability to get on base. He was a second-round draft pick and received a signing bonus of $1,400,000 to turn pro and pass up his senior season at Carolina. He was the 56th pick, although he would go quite a bit higher than 56th if MLB teams could re-draft today.
After he signed, Kepley was assigned to Myrtle Beach, just a few hours from home, joining a winning team and instantly making the Pelicans better.
“Myrtle Beach was an ideal situation for me,” Kepley said. “It was close enough to home that my family was able to see me play a lot. They have great fans at Myrtle Beach, and being able to play for a supportive fan base has always been important to me. It fueled me. When I hit my first pro home run (it was a line drive over the right-field fence off a left-hander) in August, there was this great ovation for me. I got the ball back, and it was just a cool moment.”
The 28 games Kepley played for Myrtle Beach were full of cool moments and made the Cubs look like geniuses. He had 29 hits, including three exciting triples, and two homers. He stole 16 bases and scored 28 runs. He walked 25 times and was hit by pitches nine times, while striking out 15 times. His OBP against pro pitchers was almost identical to what it had been as a Liberty sophomore — .481.
He had one of the best debuts of anyone in the 2025 draft. Baseball America lauded Kepley for his poise as well as his performance. Scouts believe Kepley makes as much solid contact and makes as many good swing decisions (to swing or not to swing) as anyone who was in that draft.
“I know I was fortunate to be drafted by the Cubs because they do put a lot of value on the things that I do well,” Kepley said. “They want guys who can get on base and they want guys to be aggressive on the bases. When I walk up to the plate, the only thought in my mind is to get on first base, and it doesn’t matter how I get there. That’s the mindset. Once I’m on first, then I want to steal second.”
Not long after his terrific pro debut, the Cubs had Kepley in Arizona for more work with coaches, with an emphasis on his base-running.
“I was out there for two and a half months, really working hard every day and really lifting hard to get stronger,” Kepley said. “Then I was able to spend a few weeks in Chapel Hill before getting home for the holidays.”
Kepley won’t get to enjoy life at home long. He’ll be headed back to the Cubs camp in Arizona on Jan. 4 to get a head start on spring training.
Spring training will determine where Kepley begins the 2026 season. High A ball in Indiana with the South Bend Cubs is the most likely next step for him. The Cubs’ Double A team is in Knoxville, Tenn.
