NC State Wolfpack baseball

NC State Wolfpack baseball
2024 NC State Wolfpack baseball team
Founded	1903
University	NC State
Head coach	Elliott Avent (28th season)
Conference	ACC Atlantic Division
Location	Raleigh, North Carolina
Home stadium	Doak Field (Capacity: 3,000)
Nickname	Wolfpack
Colors	Red and white
College World Series appearances
1968, 2013, 2021, 2024
NCAA regional champions
2003, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2021, 2024
NCAA Tournament appearances
1968, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024
Conference tournament champions
1973, 1974, 1975, 1992
Regular season conference champions
1968, 1975, 1981, 1986

The NC State Wolfpack baseball team is the varsity intercollegiate baseball program of North Carolina State University, based in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. The team has been a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference since the conference's founding in the 1954 season. The program's home venue is Doak Field, which opened in 1966. Elliott Avent has been the head coach of the team since prior to the 1997 season. As of the end of the 2024 season, the Wolfpack have appeared in four College World Series and 34 NCAA tournaments. They have won four ACC tournament Championships and four ACC Regular season Championships. As of the 2021 Major League Baseball season, 47 former Wolfpack players have played in Major League Baseball.

History

The baseball program played its first official game against Guilford College in 1894. The program began varsity play in 1903, playing at Riddick Stadium, and in 1907 won its first State Championship. The program competed in each season until 1914, when the program was discontinued for three seasons (1914–1916) before being revived prior to the 1917 season.

The team's nickname was the "Farmers" until autumn 1921, when an alumnus complained that the behavior of some of the school's football players was "as unruly as a pack of wolves." Subsequently, newspapers began referring to the school's athletic teams as the "Wolfpack."

The program's current venue, Doak Field, opened in 1966.

NC State made its first College World Series appearance in 1968, in the second season of head coach Sammy Esposito's tenure. In the World Series, the team lost in the semifinals to eventual champion USC. Since the NCAA tournament's format was changed in 1999 to include the Super Regional round, NC State has appeared in five Super Regionals, losing to Miami in 2003, Georgia in 2008, and Florida in 2012, beating Rice in 2013, and Arkansas in 2021.

The Wolfpack have hosted five NCAA Regionals, one at Wilson, North Carolina's Fleming Stadium (in 2003) and four at Doak Field (in 2008, 2012, 2013, 2016).

Conference affiliations

• Independent − 1903–1913, 1917–1921
• Southern Conference − 1922–1953
• Atlantic Coast Conference − 1954–present

2021 College World Series

NC State was put into the Ruston Regional as a 2 seed where they cruised right on through not losing a single game. They then moved on to face the #1 team in the country, the Arkansas Razorbacks. Arkansas destroyed NC State game one 21-2. The Wolfpack then bounced back to win the next two (each by one run).

The Wolfpack went into Omaha faced off against the 9 seeded Stanford Cardinal. NC State breezed by Stanford, winning 10-4. They moved on to face the 4 seeded Vanderbilt Commodores. The Wolfpack went in facing the top pitcher in the country, Jack Leiter. NC State would only score off a home run by Terrell Tatum. That proved to be all they needed as they won 1-0, despite Leiter striking out 15 batters in 8 innings. They then faced the Dores again in the next matchup where they lost 3-1. However, before they could play the elimination game, many of the NC State players contracted the COVID-19 virus. They did not have enough players to field a team of baseball players, so they had to forfeit the game. That ended their magical postseason run and hopes of winning the program's first ever national title.

Venues

Riddick Stadium

Main article: Riddick Stadium

Prior to 1966, the team played at Riddick Stadium, which was also home to the NC State football program.

Doak Field

Main article: Doak Field

The Wolfpack's home venue is Doak Field, which opened in 1966 and has a capacity of 3,000 spectators. The field is named for Charles Doak, who was the program's head coach from 1924 to 1939.

Head coaches

The program's most successful head coach was Sammy Esposito. Esposito coached teams to four ACC regular season championships, three ACC tournament championships, and one College World Series appearance in his 21-year tenure.

Current head coach Elliot Avent is the program's leader in total career victories at NC State, with 951 as of April 25, 2022. Avent became the program's winningest coach on May 9, 2010, in a 21–0 NC State win over Towson. The win was Avent's 514th, putting him past Sammy Esposito on the program's career wins list.

Coach Avent is also the program's longest tenured head coach, with 22 seasons in the position. Vic Sorrell and Sammy Esposito each served as head coach for 21 seasons.

Year(s) Coach Seasons W-L-T Pct 1903–1904 C. D. Welch 2 20–15–0 .571 1905–1906 M. J. Kittredge 2 16–12–0 .571 1907 W. W. "Win" Clark 1 14–8–0 .636 1908–1911 Frank Thompson 4 70–16–4 .800 1912 Edward Green 1 13–6–1 .675 1913 Fred Anderson 1 6–0–0 1.000 1917–1918, 1921–1923 Harry Hartsell 5 52–37–4 .581 1919 Tal Stafford 1 12–11–0 .522 1920 Bill Fetzer 1 14–6–0 .700 1924–1939 Charles Doak 16 147–129–6 .533 1940–1944 Williams Newton 5 16–50–0 .242 1945 Beattie Feathers 1 7–6–0 .538 1946–1966 Vic Sorrell 21 223–196–5 .532 1967–1987 Sammy Esposito 21 513–253–4 .669 1988–1996 Ray Tanner 9 395–173–3 .694 1997–present Elliott Avent 25 926–550 .627 Totals 16 107 2,444–1,327–27 .619 Yearly record Wolfpack Baseball Yearly record Statistics overview Season Coach Overall Conference Standing Postseason Independent (1903–1913) 1903 C. D. Welch 10–3 1904 C. D. Welch 10–12 1905 M. J. Kittredge 10–5 1906 M. J. Kittredge 6–7 1907 Win Clark 14–8 State Champions 1908 Frank Thompson 21–4 1909 Frank Thompson 16–8–1 1910 Frank Thompson 15–1–3 1911 Frank Thompson 18–3 1912 Edward Green 13–6–1 1913 Fred Anderson 6–0–0 No program (1914–1916) Independent (1917–1921) 1917 Harry Hartsell 5–8 1918 Harry Hartsell 11–5–1 1919 Tal Stafford 12–11 1920 Bill Fetzer 14–6 1921 Harry Hartsell 10–10–2 Independent: 191-97-8 Southern Conference (1922–1953) 1922 Harry Hartsell 13–7 1923 Harry Hartsell 13–7–1 1924 Charles Doak 18–4 1925 Charles Doak 14–4 1926 Charles Doak 7–13 1927 Charles Doak 2–10 1928 Charles Doak 12–6 1929 Charles Doak 9–9 1930 Charles Doak 8–10–1 1931 Charles Doak 11–8 1932 Charles Doak 7–6–2 1933 Charles Doak 9–4 1934 Charles Doak 9–11–1 1935 Charles Doak 10–9 1936 Charles Doak 11–8 1937 Charles Doak 7–12 1938 Charles Doak 8–7–2 1939 Charles Doak 5–8 1940 Williams Newton 3–9 1941 Williams Newton 3–10 1942 Williams Newton 6–9 1943 Williams Newton 3–10 1944 Williams Newton 1–12 1945 Beattie Feathers 7–6 1946 Vic Sorrell 11–4 1947 Vic Sorrell 9–13 1948 Vic Sorrell 8–13–1 1949 Vic Sorrell 8–12 1950 Vic Sorrell 16–9 1951 Vic Sorrell 10–10 1952 Vic Sorrell 15–10 1953 Vic Sorrell 11–9 Southern: 284-279-8 Atlantic Coast Conference (1954–present) 1954 Vic Sorrell 8–8 8–6 3rd 1955 Vic Sorrell 13–4 12–3 2nd 1956 Vic Sorrell 14–5–1 11–4 2nd 1957 Vic Sorrell 8–10 7–7 4th 1958 Vic Sorrell 10–7 6–7 5th 1959 Vic Sorrell 8–12 5–9 8th 1960 Vic Sorrell 12–8 9–5 3rd 1961 Vic Sorrell 13–5 8–5 4th 1962 Vic Sorrell 11–10 8–6 t–3rd 1963 Vic Sorrell 9–10 4–10 7th 1964 Vic Sorrell 8–15 4–9 7th 1965 Vic Sorrell 10–10–1 6–8 t–5th 1966 Vic Sorrell 11–12–2 7–7 t–3rd 1967 Sammy Esposito 11–11 6–7 5th 1968 Sammy Esposito 25–9 13–4 1st College World Series 1969 Sammy Esposito 17–11 9–9 4th 1970 Sammy Esposito 21–10 13–8 3rd 1971 Sammy Esposito 18–11–1 9–5 3rd 1972 Sammy Esposito 19–13 7–8 4th 1973 Sammy Esposito 23–10–1 9–3 2nd District 3 Regionals 1974 Sammy Esposito 22–10 7–5 3rd District 3 Regionals 1975 Sammy Esposito 27–7 10–2 t–1st Atlantic Regional 1976 Sammy Esposito 20–12 6–6 4th ACC tournament 1977 Sammy Esposito 27–12 5–5 t–4th ACC tournament 1978 Sammy Esposito 23–16 5–7 5th ACC tournament 1979 Sammy Esposito 23–13 3–9 6th 1980 Sammy Esposito 21–12 7–6 4th ACC tournament 1981 Sammy Esposito 33–12 10–4 t–1st ACC tournament 1982 Sammy Esposito 24–14 7–7 4th ACC tournament 1983 Sammy Esposito 23–13–1 9–4 2nd ACC tournament 1984 Sammy Esposito 32–8 9–3 3rd ACC tournament 1985 Sammy Esposito 29–16 8–5 4th ACC tournament 1986 Sammy Esposito 35–15 11–2 1st South II Regional 1987 Sammy Esposito 39–16 12–8 4th Mideast Regional 1988 Ray Tanner 45–16 13–6 2nd East Regional 1989 Ray Tanner 35–21–2 10–10 4th ACC tournament 1990 Ray Tanner 48–20 14–7 3rd Atlantic Regional 1991 Ray Tanner 48–20 11–10 3rd East Regional 1992 Ray Tanner 46–18 15–9 3rd Atlantic Regional 1993 Ray Tanner 49–17 15–7 2nd Midwest Regional 1994 Ray Tanner 46–18–1 13–11 5th Mideast Regional 1995 Ray Tanner 36–24 14–14 6th ACC tournament 1996 Ray Tanner 42–19 14–13 t–3rd East Regional 1997 Elliott Avent 43–20 15–8 3rd South II Regional 1998 Elliott Avent 41–23 12–9 4th West Regional 1999 Elliott Avent 37–25 11–13 6th Auburn Regional 2000 Elliott Avent 30–28 10–14 t–6th ACC tournament 2001 Elliott Avent 32–28 9–15 t–7th ACC tournament 2002 Elliott Avent 33–26 7–17 7th ACC tournament 2003 Elliott Avent 45–18 15–9 t–3rd Coral Gables Super Regional 2004 Elliott Avent 36–24 11–12 6th Coral Gables Regional 2005 Elliott Avent 41–19 17–13 6th Lincoln Regional 2006 Elliott Avent 40–23 16–13 t–2nd (Atlantic) Austin Regional 2007 Elliott Avent 38–23 16–14 3rd (Atlantic) Columbia, SC Regional 2008 Elliott Avent 42–22 18–11 2nd (Atlantic) Athens Super Regional 2009 Elliott Avent 25–31 10–20 t–4th (Atlantic) 2010 Elliott Avent 38–24 15–15 3rd (Atlantic) Myrtle Beach Regional 2011 Elliott Avent 35–27 15–15 t–3rd (Atlantic) Columbia Regional 2012 Elliott Avent 43–20 19–11 2nd (Atlantic) Gainesville Super Regional 2013 Elliott Avent 50–16 19–10 2nd (Atlantic) College World Series 2014 Elliott Avent 32–23 13–17 5th (Atlantic) ACC tournament 2015 Elliott Avent 36–22 15–14 5th (Atlantic) Fort Worth Regional 2016 Elliott Avent 36–22 15–14 3rd (Atlantic) Raleigh Regional 2017 Elliott Avent 36–25 16–14 4th (Atlantic) Lexington Regional 2018 Elliott Avent 42–18 19–11 3rd (Atlantic) Raleigh Regional 2019 Elliott Avent 42–19 18–12 t-3rd (Atlantic) Greenville Regional 2020 Elliott Avent 14–3 1–2 t-8th (Atlantic) Canceled for Covid-19 2021 Elliott Avent 37–18 19–14 3rd Atlantic) College World Series 2022 Elliott Avent 36–21 14–15 5th (Atlantic) 2023 Elliott Avent 36–21 13–16 5th (Atlantic) Columbia Regional 2024 Elliott Avent 38–21 18–11 2nd (Atlantic) College World Series ACC: 2,078–1,150–10 739–606 Total: 2,589–1,556–27       National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion Individual awards National awards Brooks Wallace Award Trea Turner (2014) Richard W. "Dick" Case Award Carlos Rodon (2013) Conference awards ACC Baseball Player of the Year Chris Cammack (1969) Mike Caldwell (baseball) (1971) Tracy Woodson (1984) Turtle Zaun (1988) ACC Baseball Coach of the Year Sammy Esposito (1984) Sammy Esposito (1986) Ray Tanner (1990) Elliott Avent (2003) ACC Baseball Rookie of the Year Tom Sergio (1994) Carlos Rodon (2012) Patrick Bailey (2018) Tommy White (baseball) (2022) ACC Baseball Pitcher of the Year Carlos Rodon (2012) Brian Brown (2018) Notable players Below is a list of notable players of the program and the seasons in which they played for the Wolfpack. Patrick Bailey (2017-2020) Andy Barkett (1992–1995) Brian Bark (1987–1990) Aaron Bates (2005–2006) Greg Briley (1986) Jimmy Brown (1932) Dick Burrus (1919) Mike Caldwell (1968–1971) Doug Davis (1982–1984) Joe DeBerry (1917–1920) Joey Devine (2003–2005) Bill Evans (1915) Adam Everett (1996) Stu Flythe (1934–1936) Jeff Hartsock (1986–1988) Dutch Holland (1923–1925) Andrew Knizner (2014-2016) Johnny Lanning (1931–1932) Corey Lee (1994–1996) Matt Mangini (2005–2006) Jim McNamara (1984–86) Louie Meadows (1980–82) George Murray (1918–21) Chad Orvella (2002–2003) Chink Outen (1927–1928) Jeff Pierce (1990–1991) Dan Plesac (1981–1983) Buck Redfern (1921–1924) Dave Robertson (1910–1912) Carlos Rodon (2012–2014) Tommy Smith (1972–1974) Tim Stoddard (1972–1975) Doug Strange (1983–1985) Eric Surkamp (2006) Jim Toman (1981–1984) Trea Turner (2012–2014) Russell Wilson (2008–2010) Will Wilson (2016–2019) Tracy Woodson (1982–1984) Current MLB Roster Former Wolfpack players on current MLB rosters as of August 14, 2023. Player Position Number Team Patrick Bailey C 14 San Francisco Giants Andrew Knizner C 7 St. Louis Cardinals Carlos Rodon P 16 San Francisco Giants Trea Turner SS 6 Philadelphia Phillies Major League Baseball Draft 2012 In the 2012 Major League Baseball Draft, two NC State players were selected. Junior shortstop Chris Diaz was selected in the 11th round by the Pittsburgh Pirates, and senior outfielder Ryan Mathews was selected in the 27th round by the Oakland Athletics. Both players signed contracts with their respective organizations. 2014 In the 2014 Major League Baseball Draft, two NC State players were selected in the first round. Junior pitcher Carlos Rodon was selected 3rd overall in the 1st round by the Chicago White Sox, and shortstop Trea Turner was selected 13th overall by the San Diego Padres. See also List of NCAA Division I baseball programs References External links Official website