North Carolina alum Chad Holbrook excited to face alma mater

A lot of coaches prefer to not face off against their alma mater, but South Carolina’s Chad Holbrook relishes the opportunity to compete against North Carolina.

Holbrook said USC should face the Tar Heels every year in baseball, as well as other sports, and he doesn’t want to get in the way of that taking place.

South Carolina and North Carolina will meet at BB&T Ballpark in Charlotte on Wednesday night.

“I think it’s great for the sport. I think it’s great for college baseball. I just think North and South Carolina should play every year in more than just baseball, all sports,” Holbrook said. “It’s not about me. It’s about the University of North Carolina and the University of South Carolina. When you have two great programs, I just think they should play.”

The schools have combined for 21 College World Series appearances, six runner-up finishes and USC’s two national titles in 2010 and 2011.

Since 2002, the programs have reached the College World Series 12 times.

With the schools separated by about 200 miles, Holbrook said it makes sense for the border rivalry to take place regularly.

“I can check my ego at the door and step aside and let that atmosphere kind of go to the forefront,” he said. “I think, ultimately, it’s great for their program, it’s great for our program, it’s great for college baseball.”

The teams will meet in Charlotte again next year.

This year’s showdown features two top-15 teams as South Carolina (28-5, 10-2) is ranked No. 5, while North Carolina (23-9, 8-7) is No. 14. The Gamecocks have a two-game lead in the SEC with 40 percent of the conference season complete.

Holbrook said with the way USC has played, the pressure is off when the Gamecocks and Tar Heels meet.

“We can just relax and play, because we’ve got everything to win there and not much to lose,” he said.

This story was originally published April 12, 2016 at 9:01 PM with the headline "North Carolina alum Chad Holbrook excited to face alma mater."