{"id":2798,"date":"2026-06-19T20:06:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T20:06:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2798"},"modified":"2026-06-19T20:06:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T20:06:12","slug":"burlington-boy-leukemia-survivor-will-cheer-on-unc-baseball-in-cws-title-series-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2798","title":{"rendered":"Burlington boy, leukemia survivor will cheer on UNC baseball in CWS title series"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n

Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

North Carolina baseball will have a special fan in attendance this weekend when it plays for a national championship.<\/p>\n

Read more Man accused of targeting Life Flight helicopters on life-saving missions<\/a><\/p>\n

No, it won\u2019t be country singer Eric Church. Or first-year men\u2019s basketball coach Mike Malone. Or even Roy Williams.<\/p>\n

The Tar Heels\u2019 special guest is none other than David Hill, a 6-year-old leukemia survivor.<\/p>\n

His family found out last week that a trip to Omaha was possible. David started jumping up and down when Carolina beat West Virginia, 12-7, on Wednesday, solidifying its spot in the finals and the boy\u2019s trip to the plains.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re really nice to me, and we have played games,\u201d David said before the family left Burlington. \u201cI\u2019ve found some baseballs that they hit, and I\u2019m happy to go to the game in Omaha.\u201d<\/p>\n

David became part of the program three years ago after Dr. Patrick Thompson, a pediatric oncologist at UNC Children\u2019s Hospital, connected him with the Tar Heels. He joined Team IMPACT \u2014 a nonprofit that supports children with disabilities and health challenges \u2014 shortly after turning 5.<\/p>\n

In the past two years, David participated in shoe-painting events, team dinners, attended games, spent time in the dugout, and gone to Christmas events. Members of the team even made hospital visits when David received treatment.<\/p>\n

Now, Team IMPACT is flying David and his family to Omaha, where they will watch No. 5 UNC play unseeded Oklahoma for a title at the Men\u2019s College World Series and hopefully participate in other activities with the team.<\/p>\n

Josh Hill, David\u2019s father, said his son was diagnosed at age 3 after dealing with lingering illness and fevers. Blood work showed leukemia. David underwent typical cancer treatments and was treated for C. diff, a bacterial infection of the colon.<\/p>\n

He is now in remission and will hit the one-year mark in August.<\/p>\n

There were times when the family could\u2019ve never imagined David getting an opportunity like this.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t know what was going to happen, where we were going to be,\u201d Josh Hill said. \u201cI mean, my wife and I got to the point where we weren\u2019t even making plans. We were literally just day to day; kind of surviving.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Josh Hill hung up the phone, David could be heard in the background yelling, \u201cTell my guys I love them!\u201d<\/p>\n

The boy is a member of the team as anyone on the field at a given time.<\/p>\n

David said the players are \u201creally nice\u201d and he likes their expressions when they see him. They have gone out of their way to make him feel welcomed.<\/p>\n

The Tar Heels don\u2019t spend time with David because they have to, Josh Hill said. They do it because they want to.<\/p>\n

Read more Don\u2019t worry about today\u2019s rain: \u2018Very nice\u2019 weather ahead for Stanley Cup parade<\/a><\/p>\n

One day last season, former Tar Heel Luke Stevenson sat with David in the dugout and played with matchbox cars together. It was a sweet moment that didn\u2019t get put on ESPN or will likely be remembered in Carolina baseball history, but it was one that resonated with a family and young boy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re genuinely nice guys,\u201d Josh Hill said. \u201cIt\u2019s very heartfelt what they do, and it is very uplifting as a parent to see them genuinely care about my son.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gavin Gallaher is one of David\u2019s favorite players, he admits, but it\u2019s mostly because they\u2019ve spent so much time together.<\/p>\n

The captain has taken it upon himself to build a deep relationship not only with David but the rest of the Hill family.<\/p>\n

\u201cGavin has spent a lot of time with us in general after last year when Jake Knapp left the team,\u201d Josh Hill said. \u201cEven before that, Gavin spent a lot of time with us. We\u2019ve also gotten to spend some time with his parents. I met them the first year we were with the team, so Gavin has just been a really big part of this whole thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

UNC baseball is no stranger to having special teammates.<\/p>\n

Jacob Ray \u201cJ.R.\u201d Anton, 31, died in 2024<\/a> at his home in Omaha, a month before Carolina\u2019s trip to the Men\u2019s College World Series. He met the team in 2006 and was both a fan, friend and bat boy to the program, making yearly trips to Chapel Hill.<\/p>\n

In 2017, Anton signed with the program as an \u201cHonorary Team Member\u201d \u2014 official contract and all.<\/p>\n

He had Hunter Syndrome, which affected his joints, hearing and heart. Forbes carried a photo of Anton in a binder during the team\u2019s 2024 trip to Omaha.<\/p>\n

This year, upon UNC\u2019s return to the CWS, Forbes visited Anton\u2019s bench<\/a> at the Omaha Baseball Village with his wife and daughters. It was a reminder of why the program participates in community service and works with the children\u2019s hospital where David was treated and Miracle League.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just thankful that I got to know J.R. and the fact that he lived life like he did,\u201d Forbes said Wednesday night. \u201cI can see that big smile. He\u2019d be so excited right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anton might be physically gone, his time with the program represented the power of baseball and the Carolina family.<\/p>\n

Two years later, when David sits in the stands at Charles Schwab Field, he will \u2014 whether he realizes it or not \u2014 continue Anton\u2019s legacy of passion, unconditional love and connection. The 6-year-old and his family are part of a special group of people positively impacted by UNC baseball.<\/p>\n

\u201cI personally liked UNC, but I didn\u2019t care either way when I came to the big three rivalry \u2014 State Duke and UNC \u2014 but my wife and I joke now that we\u2019re Tar Heels for life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018It was our time\u2019: Hurricanes answer every challenge in Stanley Cup win | Commentary<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Team Impact flies 6-year-old David Hill from Burlington, NC, to the 2026 Men\u2019s College World Series, to watch UNC baseball play for national championship.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2791,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2798","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nBurlington boy, leukemia survivor will cheer on UNC baseball in CWS title series - Durham Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2798\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Burlington boy, leukemia survivor will cheer on UNC baseball in CWS title series - 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