By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
Rising junior shortstop Tyler Jackson of Southeast Alamance committed to play college baseball for North Carolina.
Tuesday’s announcement came just days after the recruiting window for the Class of 2028 opened at the beginning of the month.
“I heard from North Carolina at 7 a.m. [Saturday morning, when the contact period began]. I listened to a bunch of other schools and then eventually North Carolina was the place I wanted to be.”
– Tyler Jackson, on decision to commit to UNC baseball
“I heard from North Carolina at 7 a.m. that morning,” he said of Saturday when the contact period began. “I listened to a bunch of other schools and then eventually North Carolina was the place I wanted to be.”
Jackson was in contact with a few Southeastern Conference teams before confirming with Tar Heels coach Scott Forbes that he’ll join the program in Chapel Hill.
The choice was predictable. He’s the son of Scott Jackson, who’s in his second stint as a North Carolina assistant coach sandwiched around time as Liberty’s head coach.
“When I was born, they actually painted my foot like a Tar Heel.”
– Tyler Jackson
“I’ve always been a Tar Heel,” Tyler Jackson said. “When I was born, they actually painted my foot like a Tar Heel.”
He also pitches for the Stallions. He was named Player of the Year in the Mid-Carolina Conference this spring.
Jackson, 16, also has been a participant for the Burlington-based Dirtbags travel ball teams. He’s the first known commitment for the Tar Heels in the Class of 2028.
Jackson, the returning starting quarterback for Southeast’s football team, completed his first school year with the Stallions in 2025-26 after moving back to the state from Virginia.
With the baseball commitment wrapped up, he said he looks forward to concentrating on football for a few months.
“I kind of wanted to get it done before football season so I could just focus on football and don’t have to worry about it,” he said.
North Carolina’s baseball team was the NCAA runner-up in June. Jackson spent about two weeks at the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, with his family. It was his third CWS after twice going as a toddler as part of the Tar Heels’ contingent, though this year’s trip he can remember.
“It was awesome, and being around all those guys,” Jackson said. “That’s my dream to go back and play there, so hopefully I can.”
