UNC Wilmington Professional Athletes

When October baseball gets tight, the Los Angeles Dodgers have been reaching for a UNCW product.

Evan Phillips, the Seahawks' most prominent active MLB alumni, has emerged as a trusted arm out of the Dodgers' bullpen during their National League playoff series against the Milwaukee Brewers — appearing in three games over the span of just five days. For a reliever, that kind of deployment is a statement of trust from the coaching staff.

Phillips opened the stretch with his most dominant outing: on Monday, October 12, he worked a full inning in Los Angeles's 2-1 win over Milwaukee, striking out three batters. In a one-run game, those three punch-outs weren't just clean — they were critical. Postseason bullpen decisions are made on the thinnest of margins, and Phillips delivered exactly what a manager needs: length, control, and swing-and-miss stuff.

He followed that up with another full inning of work on Thursday, October 15, in a 6-2 Dodgers loss. Even in a game that got away, Phillips continued to earn the ball, which speaks to how the organization views his reliability regardless of the score or stakes.

Then, on Friday, October 16 — just 24 hours later — he was back out there. The Dodgers lost that contest 6-4, and Phillips worked 0.1 innings in what was likely a high-leverage or mop-up situation with a fatigued staff. Pitching on back-to-back days in the playoffs, at this stage of a series, underscores just how short the list of trusted options can get — and how Phillips has made sure his name is on it.

Three appearances. 2.1 combined innings. At least three strikeouts accounted for from the Monday outing alone. For a Wilmington kid who played college ball at UNCW — not exactly a perennial MLB pipeline — reaching this stage of the sport's calendar is no small feat.

No other UNCW alumni logged stats during the October 11–17 window, though the Seahawks do have active representatives scattered across the league — from Brooks Baldwin with the White Sox to Ryan Jeffers catching for Minnesota — none were active in the stat line this period.

The spotlight, for now, belongs to Phillips. Whether the Dodgers advance may well hinge on how many more times they need him to take the ball in high-leverage moments. Based on this week, he's been willing every time they've asked.

Ryan Jeffers Eyes the Open Market

The most consequential offseason story for UNC Wilmington alumni in MLB begins not with a trade or a signing, but with a simple declaration: Ryan Jeffers is testing free agency.

The Twins catcher — a second-round pick out of UNCW in 2018 — confirmed he plans to explore the market this winter, even as he left the door open to a Minnesota return. "I've worked too hard not to see what's out there," Jeffers said, per MLB Trade Rumors. After spending his entire professional career in the Twins organization, that honesty carries weight. It signals a player who knows his value and intends to find out what the market agrees it is.

That value is real. Jeffers closed out the regular season on a strong note, going 2-for-4 with an RBI and a walk in Minnesota's 6-4 win over Texas on September 27, finishing the year at .256. Quality catching is perennially scarce in MLB, and Jeffers — still just 27 — represents a defensively capable, right-handed-hitting option entering what should be his prime years.

The void he leaves in Minnesota is significant enough that Sports Illustrated and Heavy Sports both flagged it immediately. With Jeffers gone, the Twins would be left with Victor Caratini as their only catcher on the 40-man roster — a thin situation that puts the organization in reactive mode. Minnesota will need to decide quickly whether to pursue a reunion or pivot to a different solution entirely, whether that's Tyler Stephenson or another market option.

For UNCW fans, the headline is straightforward: one of the program's most prominent MLB products is about to have his name attached to one of the offseason's most-watched free agent decisions.

Phillips Stays Sharp in LA

While Jeffers commands the bigger headline, Evan Phillips continued his reliable role in the Dodgers' bullpen through the final week of the regular season. The UNCW product tossed a clean inning with two strikeouts in Los Angeles' 5-1 win over San Francisco on September 27, finishing with a 3.46 ERA. He followed that with a brief appearance in the Dodgers' 5-3 win over Atlanta on October 3.

Phillips doesn't generate the star-turn narrative that Jeffers does, but his consistency in one of baseball's most scrutinized bullpens — in a postseason-bound rotation, no less — is its own kind of achievement for a UNCW alum.

The Bigger Picture

Between Jeffers entering one of the most significant free agent decisions of his career and Phillips navigating October with the defending champions, UNCW has two alumni operating at meaningful levels of the sport right now. The Seahawks also count Greg Jones (Brewers), Brett Banks and Austin Warren (Mets), and Luke Craig, Adam Smith, and Zane Taylor among their active MLB representatives — a roster depth that speaks to what Wilmington has quietly built as a pipeline program.

The Jeffers sweepstakes, though, is the story to watch. When the hot stove ignites, his name will be near the top of the catcher market — and UNCW will have a rooting interest in where he lands.

UNCW in the Majors | Sept. 20–26

A year ago, Evan Phillips and Brock Stewart were spectators in their own clubhouse — rehabbing from surgeries while the Los Angeles Dodgers made their postseason run without them. This October, neither man plans on watching from the sidelines.

Both veteran right-handers are healthy and entrenched in what has become one of baseball's deepest bullpens, and the Dodgers' front office knows exactly what it has. Phillips, in particular, has been a reliable late-inning weapon down the stretch.

Evan Phillips: Earning His October Spot

Phillips worked three appearances this week, logging a clean inning on Sunday in LA's 10-4 win over San Francisco — punching out two — then returning Friday to strand two more Padres in a 4-2 loss, again striking out a pair across a scoreless frame. Saturday was his lone hiccup: he allowed an earned run in a 4-3 Dodgers win over the Giants, bumping his ERA slightly to 3.60. Across the week, he threw three innings total, struck out five, and largely did what a trusted setup arm is supposed to do when September games start to matter.

The broader narrative is the redemption arc. Phillips and Stewart both missed last year's postseason recovering from surgery. Now both are healthy contributors in a bullpen that the Dodgers are betting on when October arrives. For Phillips, who went through the grind of a full season to get here, the timing is personal.

Ryan Jeffers: A Difficult Finish in Minnesota

Meanwhile, former UNCW catcher Ryan Jeffers had a quieter week in a Minnesota uniform that's heading toward an uncertain offseason. Jeffers went 2-for-his-last-several across four appearances — collecting a hit in Wednesday's 4-2 win over San Francisco and another in Saturday's 10-2 rout of Texas — while watching his average settle at .252.

The numbers mask a rougher truth: Jeffers has struggled significantly in the second half, and according to Sports Illustrated, Minnesota may reconsider extending a qualifying offer this offseason given how his finish has affected the team's playoff picture. It's a stark contrast to what the Twins hoped for when they committed to him behind the plate. Jeffers still has the tools, but the second-half fade has raised real questions heading into the winter.

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Two UNCW alumni, two very different trajectories in the final week of the regular season. Phillips is pitching himself into a high-leverage October role on the sport's biggest stage. Jeffers is finishing a season that ended Minnesota's postseason dreams and clouds his own future with the club.

For a mid-major program in Wilmington, North Carolina, having two alumni in meaningful September conversations — one a potential October weapon, one a cautionary tale of second-half collapse — is the kind of spread that any college program would sign up for.