UNC first baseman Erik Paulsen Jr. carries on a legacy forged through baseball after his father's passing. Erik Sr., an NYPD detective who responded to 9/11 and later developed service-connected cancer, died less than a year ago. The father-son bond centered on baseball, with Erik Sr. coaching his son and founding the New York Longhorns travel program.

Paulsen Jr. began his college career at Stony Brook, just 30 miles from his Massapequa home. After his father's cancer diagnosis, the younger Paulsen hit .358 in his sophomore season. When his coach retired, Erik Sr. encouraged his son to seek bigger opportunities, prompting a transfer to UNC where he canceled other visits after one trip to Chapel Hill.

Now at UNC, Paulsen continues to honor his father's memory through baseball. The 21-year-old maintains his father's phone filled with videos of their baseball sessions, keeps his dad's season tickets to Yankee Stadium, and carries the lessons from his father's detective work into his own approach to the game and life.