NC State baseball has high aspirations, but before it can reach those, it has to accomplish one mission: Make the postseason.
“I talk about getting into March Madness, getting into postseason,” said head coach Elliott Avent. “And then I talk about getting to Omaha, and then the third thing is winning it all.”
The postseason is the standard under Avent. Entering year 30 at NC State, Avent has made the postseason 22 times. Since 2015, NC State has only missed the NCAA tournament once. With a challenging schedule, the Pack will have to earn its place by going through an ACC gauntlet.
“College baseball is at the height of, as good as it’s ever been,” Avent said. “This league is as good as it’s ever been, and the people we play non-conference. North Carolina has so many great teams … There’s so many great teams in this area that we have to line up and play.”
The biggest challenge for NC State will be finding a way to gel with so many new pieces. Like most teams, the Pack was active in the transfer portal, replacing players who departed for the MLB Draft and other schools.
The Wolfpack is familiar with leaning on transfers to make key impacts. When the Pack went to the 2024 College World Series, NC State’s best hitter was third baseman Alec Makarewicz — a transfer from ECU. Most recently, junior first baseman Chris McHugh became among the red-and-white’s top bats last year after transferring from VCU.
“My biggest thing is to just be ready for the jump,” McHugh said. “It’s only hard if you make it hard. Just gotta be able to deal with the ups and downs because there’s going to be a lot more downs in a higher conference. It’s honestly just staying true to yourself.”
While NC State has several new pieces, the team’s core, particularly the pitching staff, are returners. Junior pitchers Ryan Marohn and Jacob Dudan are expected to start, while sophomore Anderson Nance is likely set to be the top arm in the bullpen.
“It’s awesome, we all treat each other like brothers,” Nance said. “Just having everybody’s support, even when you’re doing bad they’re not gonna go in the dugout and be like looking down on you. They’re gonna keep you up and tell you to keep moving forward.”
The attitude begins from the top, where Avent pours everything he has into the university and to the players. It’s something that sets him apart as a coach, and that is critical for the Wolfpack’s success.
“Not one thing’s changed from the first day I got here in 1996 to today,” Avent said. “It’s just still the same love for a school that I grew up loving when I was five years old, the same love for NC State, the same love I have for the players.”
As different as the college baseball landscape is from when Avent started, his teams consistently set the bar high. This year’s squad is no different with Omaha aspirations.
“We all have a collective that we wanna go to the World Series again,” said Marohn. “I went there as a freshman, it’s an unbelievable experience. It’s a crazy place; it’s awesome, so I would love to go back. The other guys feel the exact same way.”
NC State will open up the 2026 season in the Puerto Rico Baseball Challenge on Friday, Feb. 13, at 2:30 p.m. against Washington.
