One of the most important parts of building a quality resume for the NCAA Tournament, regardless of the sport, is the nonconference schedule. The difference between a strong nonconference slate and bad nonconference slate can be as big as missing the tournament versus making the tournament.
Last year, the NC State baseball team was in danger of not hosting a regional because the nonconference schedule was so bad. It was the biggest knock against a team that had one of the best regular seasons in NC State history. Fortunately, or unfortunately based on how it played out, the Pack was able to snag the last national seed and host a regional, despite its nonconference schedule.
This year, the Wolfpack won’t be in trouble because of the strength of schedule. Let’s take a look at that schedule.
The biggest nonconference series of the season will be one of the toughest tests all year when Minnesota comes to town from March 1-3. The Gophers went 44-15 last season, won the Big Ten and won their regional before losing to eventual national champion Oregon State in Super Regionals. Minnesota lost their best hitter, Terrin Vavra, but returns the majority of its pitching staff. This series figures to be one of the premier nonconference matchups in the country.
From there, the nonconference schedule shifts to midweek matchups when conference series take over the weekends. The Pack has road games against in-state teams Elon, Campbell, UNC-Wilmington and Charlotte, who each finished in the top 110 of the RPI. Of those teams, the Seahawks will likely take a step back from finishing one game away from Super Regionals, but otherwise each will be a potential NCAA Tournament team.
NC State has a home and road series with Coastal Carolina, who is one of the best mid-major teams in the country year in and year out. This year, D1 Baseball ranked them No. 21 in their preseason poll.
The most underrated nonconference game is when Tennessee Tech comes to Raleigh on April 23, a year after finishing 15th in RPI, winning the regional against No. 4 overall seed Ole Miss and coming within one game of advancing to Omaha and the College World Series. This Golden Eagles team won’t be that good, but they’ll still be a good challenge for the Wolfpack.
Another big nonconference game comes in Charlotte on April 2 against South Carolina, another team who advanced to Super Regionals last year and was one game away from Omaha. The Gamecocks are historically a very strong program, and this year will be no different.
The emphasis placed on neutral-site road games is clear. Last year, there were only three nonconference games away from Doak Field, and that included a game against UNC-Chapel Hill in Durham. This year, there are 10.
Last year, the Pack didn’t face a single nonconference team who made the tournament in 2017. This year, the Wolfpack has twelve nonconference games against 2018 tournament teams, including three who won regionals.
As for the conference schedule, it’s as tough as ever. D1 Baseball ranks Louisville at No. 4, Florida State at No. 13 and Clemson at No. 24 in its preseason poll. Each of those teams make trips to Raleigh this season. Louisville was also voted as the ACC preseason favorite to win the Atlantic Division and the ACC as a whole.
The Wolfpack will travel to UNC-Chapel Hill and Wake Forest, who check in at No. 7 and No. 20, respectively, in the D1 Baseball poll. The Tar Heels were voted the preseason favorite in the Coastal Division, receiving 13 out of 14 votes. The team who received the other vote is Virginia, who will also play at Doak Field this year.
The schedule is as tough as it’s ever been for the Wolfpack, and there will be bumps in the road because of it. The good news is that when push comes to shove in May, the Pack will be battle-tested, and the schedule will help instead of hurt the Wolfpack when it comes to seeding.
