Jacob Stallings has no better or more devoted fan than his father, Kevin.
Stallings is a junior catcher at North Carolina. His father has been Vanderbilt's basketball coach for the past 11 years.
And on Saturday, their worlds will collide when UNC and Vanderbilt meet in a first-round game of the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.
"It's certainly a tough situation for him," Stallings said. "He works there, and he's close to (Vanderbilt baseball coach Tim) Corbin.
"I've said this before: It's just like when Carolina played Vandy in basketball this year. I was 100 percent for Vanderbilt. I think he'll be the same way on Saturday."
Stallings has helped UNC to a 50-14 record and its fifth CWS appearance in six seasons. His father attended last weekend's Super Regional against Stanford at Boshamer Stadium and the four-team regional the weekend before. He also watched many of UNC's regular-season games after basketball season ended.
"You can hardly keep him away from here," Stallings said. "He's here whenever my mom will let him be here. He loves it. He's a big fan of this program. He's really excited, not only for me, but for everybody on the team."
Stallings knew three weeks ago that a UNC-Vandy game was a possibility.
UNC was the No. 3 national seed, and Vanderbilt was No. 6. The bracket meant they would meet in the series if each made it that far.
Still, knowing the matchup was possible made it no easier for Stallings or his father.
"It's not having to beat the school my dad works at," Stallings said. "I've got a lot of good friends on that team, and I want them to do well. I'm going to have to do my best to treat it like another game and put all the friendships aside.
"I've just got to go out there and not let them influence me at all. I've got to go out there and focus on our team and what we do."
Stallings was born in Lawrence, Kan., when his father was an assistant to Roy Williams, now the UNC basketball coach. He also lived in Brentwood, Tenn., a Nashville suburb, after his father was hired by Vanderbilt.
In 2007, Stallings and his father were in Nashville when Michigan defeated Vanderbilt 4-3 in 10 innings to win a regional title. Stallings helped clean up the Vanderbilt dugout as stunned players retired to their locker room.
"I was there with my dad, and we both were just kind of in shock," Stallings said. "We were huge fans of that team. I felt for them.
"I knew they were extremely disappointed. Nobody was on the field, so I just kind of wandered down and started cleaning up. I didn't really know what else to do."
Stallings' college decision came down to UNC and Vanderbilt, and Corbin was one of the biggest influences on his choice.
"It was just a better situation here," Stallings said. "Coach Corbin actually told me that this was a better situation for me. I was leaning towards here anyway, but he helped me. He looked out for me and my best interests."
Last Saturday, during a 3½-hour rain delay in the Super Regional, the UNC and Stanford players retired to their locker rooms. Stallings later walked into the office of coach Mike Fox and asked if he could turn on the television.
Fox smiled. He knew Stallings wanted to watch Vanderbilt's Super Regional game being played that night.
"Yes, I was (watching)," Stallings said with a smile. "I know how much it meant to them to get there, so I was happy for all of them."
Stallings is close to Jason Esposito, Vanderbilt's third baseman, and also knows Navery Moore, Aaron Westlake, Riley Reynolds, Taylor Hill and Sonny Gray, after playing against them in high school or in other levels of baseball in Tennessee.
Esposito contacted Stallings after UNC defeated Stanford late Saturday night to reach the CWS.
"Espo texted me on Sunday, just saying, 'congrats,' " Stallings said. "We said, 'Why do we have to play each other in the first round? Why can't we wait until the championship?' "
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement