GREENVILLE, S.C. – This is part of an article written by Bob Rose and pulled from conferencecarolinas.com as part of Conference Carolinas' series of Body, Mind & Soul stories that highlights member student-athletes, coaches and administrators of the conference.

It's a wonder that Conference Carolinas doesn't offer a sport called Intercollegiate Duplicity. No, seriously. 
 
Considering how unlikely twins are to be born, one of the premier NCAA Division II athletic conferences is certainly an outlier when looking at their school's rosters.  In 2025, the league boasts no less than twelve sets of twins among their member schools.  And get this: that's not counting identical triplets on King University's men's soccer team.
 
Here's the complete rundown:

• Chowan–four sets of twins: Bailey and Lauren Weston (softball), Gracie and Rayn Ross (women's soccer), Kellani and Keilana Johnson (women's basketball), and A'Sharia and Isis Short (cheerleading).
• Ferrum–two sets of twins: Carly and Chloe Constantino (softball), and Brett and Michael Tate-Blanks (football)
• Southern Wesleyan–two sets of twins: Britton and Briar Ellenberg (baseball), and Hannah (women's soccer) and Abbey Kovalcik (women's lacrosse).
• Erskine–two sets of twins: Julian and Elias Hachem, and Gavin and Preston Justice (all baseball).
• Francis Marion - two sets of twins: Alana and Nalani Hunt (women's soccer); Jackson and Davis Campbell (baseball)
• King–one set of triplets: Anderson, Bay and Campbell Moore (men's soccer)
• Converse–two sets of twins: Fernando and Carlo Ruiz (men's soccer); Ariel and Ariana Bryant (volleyball)
• North Greenville–one set of twins: Bradley and Brooks Russ-Martin (football)

Nowhere in the conference has the twin phenomena been better showcased than Erskine College's baseball team.  If positions didn't matter, the Flying Fleet could field a complete infield featuring twins.

In 2025-26, Co-Head Coaches Jimmy Prince and Scotty Bateman welcome senior twins in relief pitchers Julien and Elias Hachem (pronounced has-HEM), and freshmen twins Gavin (pitcher) and Preston (third baseman) Justice to their team roster.  All four should figure prominently in Erskine's baseball fortunes.

The Hachem twins are certainly hard to miss.  First, they are identical twins.  Second, they both strike Paul Bunyanesque dimensions, with Julien measuring 6-7 ½ inches and 250 pounds and Elias close behind at 6-7 and 245 pounds.

Prince, Erskine's co-head baseball coach, recalls the first time he set eyes on the behemoth pitchers.

"I had seen both of them on video online, but the first time I actually met them was at our first team meeting this fall," he said.  "I knew their height and weight, but when I saw them in person I said 'whoa', they look even bigger in person.  I loved it.  They're the kind of guys you want first to step off your bus and stand for the national anthem!"

When asked whether it was challenging not to be noticed when the towering twins are out in public or on the baseball diamond, Julien just chuckled.

"We stick out like sore thumbs," said the senior psychology major. "But I wouldn't have it any other way.  We have only one class together (geology) this semester and we always sit next to each other."

The Hachem brothers took circuitous routes to Erskine's Due West, S.C. campus this year. 

Growing up in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Ill., both were highly regarded hurlers coming out of Mount Carmel High School.  Julien was ranked the No. 10 overall recruit and No. 2 left-handed pitcher in the state by the Perfect Game website.  He chose to join college powerhouse Oklahoma.

Julien made 10 appearances with the Sooners his freshman year, including one start, but soon realized he was not a good fit in the program.  He transferred to North Dakota State after one season, where he saw limited action the past two years.

Meanwhile, Elias was rated the 29th overall player and No. 8 right-handed pitcher by that same website at Mount Carmel and chose to attend the University of Evansville.  His tenure there was also limited, with some flashes of promise.

It marked the first time the inseparable twins had ventured alone to college and as Julien tells it, both brothers felt that something had been missing from their respective experiences.

"Growing up together, I think we just missed each other and also wondered what it would be like to play a season on the same team at the same school," Julien admitted.  "So, we were a package deal."

They both entered the transfer portal last spring and before long, the Erskine coaches noticed a Twitter (now X) post by the brothers saying they were looking for a new home.  Soon after, the Hachems committed to Erskine and made their pitching debuts during a fall scrimmage against Presbyterian College.

Both fired shutout innings in relief that day and Coach Prince was understandably impressed.

"They both had really good outings," he said.  "I can see them called on in the middle or back end of the bullpen this spring, just being asked to come in and blow it out for an inning."

And "blow it out" are the operative words.  Elias, a right-hander, has hit 94 or 95 miles-per-hour on the radar gun, while Julien, a lefty, has registered his fastball as high as 97.

While the two seniors are looking forward to their first college season together, Julien says the best part is just the brother reunion.  They live together in a four-plex apartment nearby Abbeville.

"You would think being in college would feel differently, but it's just like it was growing up as kids," said Julien.  "Just driving with him to school and seeing him at practice is really special."

Both brothers are also musically inclined, with Elias playing guitar and Julien taking piano lessons on YouTube and considering picking up his old instrument, the saxophone. 

"We play all over the house," Julien said.  "We're both musical guys.  Our father has like 5,000 vinyls which we listened to all the time.  We're really into the 70's and 80's.  I really like Van Morrison, Al Green and all the Motown stuff."

Beyond downsizing his college experience–Erskine has an enrollment of 854, compared to 36,500 at Oklahoma and 14,000 at North Dakota State, Julien is also marveling about the warmer weather of South Carolina at his new campus.

"I'm loving it here, wearing flip flops and getting a natural tan," he smiled.  "I called a buddy (in Fargo, ND) the other day and he said they had three to four inches of snow on Halloween.  Winters there is a blizzard every day. I may be from Chicago, but you haven't seen wind like Fargo."

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