As A Senior (2022)
Made 25 pitching appearances, all out of the bullpen, and finished his career with the fifth-most appearances in program history (112) • Compiled a 3-0 record with five saves and a 3.86 ERA • Tied for the team lead in saves, ranking sixth in the ACC • Longest scoreless innings streak of the season was 11.1 innings (Feb. 25 – March 27) • Threw a season-high 4.0 innings against VCU (June 5) in the Chapel Hill Regional to earn his final win • Made three appearances of 3.0 innings pitched • Picked up wins against Appalachian State and Gardner-Webb • Struck out the final batter of the Georgia game on four pitches to claim his final save • Fanned all four batters he faced in two appearances against East Carolina • Struck out four of five batters faced against Appalachian State • Struck out three or more batters in six appearances • Named to the ACC All-Academic Honor Roll.

As A Redshirt Junior (2021)
Competed as a junior after he received a waiver from the NCAA with the previous season’s cancellation due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic • Made 21 appearances on the mound, starting a pair of games • Finished the season with a 3-1 record, three saves and a 5.20 ERA • Ranked second on the team in wins and saves • Led the Tar Heels in games finished with nine • Pitched 36.1 innings with 38 strikeouts and 15 base on balls • Averaged 9.41 strikeouts per nine innings with a 2.5 strikeout-to-walk ratio • Tossed a season-best 3.0 innings of relief three times • Struck out five in 2.1 innings at home against Liberty (3/9);  four in 1.1 innings at Florida State (4/2); four in 1.2 innings versus NC State at the ACC Tournament (5/28) • Picked up wins at Boston College (3/21), at Florida State (4/2), and South Carolina (4/6) • Recorded two of his three saves against Clemson (3/13 & 3/14) and the third versus NC State (5/28).

As A Junior (2020)
Made six appearances games for a total of 13.0 innings • Made two starts for the Tar Heels, both during midweek matchups • Recorded 20 strikeouts, with a season-high seven against Elon • Finished with a 2.08 ERA.

As A Sophomore (2019)
Battled injuries during his sophomore campaign en route to a 1-1 record in 30 appearances with a 5.13 ERA • All 30 appearances came out of the bullpen with his longest outing coming against NC A&T on 2/19 with 3.2 innings and three strikeouts • Recorded a season-high five Ks in three innings of shutout relief at Virginia Tech on 3/24.

As A Freshman (2018)
Went 7-0 with a 2.62 ERA in 30 appearances • Became the ninth pitcher in Carolina history to win at least seven decisions without a loss in a single season • Twenty-eight games in relief and two starts • Struck out 52 in 48 innings and allowed a .185 batting average • Second-team Freshman All-America by D1Baseball • K’d seven in his first start against UNCW • Earned his first collegiate win against High Point • Picked up his first conference win against Georgia Tech • Came on in relief on 4/29 at NC State to pick up the win, tossing four innings with four K’s • Pitched in five postseason games, earning wins in the series-clinching game against Stetson to send UNC to the College World Series and Game 1 win of the CWS over Oregon State • In Game 3 of the CWS against the Beavers, he struck out five in 4.1 innings.

High School
Attended Maiden High School • No. 5 left-handed pitcher in North Carolina and No. 35 overall player by Perfect Game • 2017 Rawlings-Perfect Game honorable mention All-America • All-Atlantic second team • Selected to the 2017 all-state team • 2017 conference pitcher of the year • Went 8-1 as a senior with a 1.11 ERA, 115 strikeouts and just 13 walks • Threw three no-hitters in his prep career • Summa Cum Laude and Beta Club member.

Personal
Full name is Caden Dean O’Brien • Born January 24, 1999 •  Son of Carol and Eddie Cruse • First member of his family to attend college.