NC State baseball head coach Elliott Avent returns six of his nine starting position players and all three weekend starting pitchers in hopes of advancing past the regional round in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2013.
The Wolfpack will have the same outfield for the third consecutive year. Senior Josh McLain is entrenched as the center fielder, while fellow senior Brock Deatherage will start in right field. Junior Brett Kinneman will man left field. McClain was the Pack’s most consistent offensive threat last year hitting .311. He was drafted in the 14th round by the Los Angeles Dodgers, but elected to return to school. State will need a bounce back season from Deatherage, who has the best physical tools on the team, after he hit .218 last year, but was still drafted in the 29th round by the Pittsburgh Pirates. He also returns to school looking to finish unfinished business.
Kinneman enters his draft-eligible season as perhaps the best power-hitter on the team. He slugged .502 last year and hit 10 home runs, second on the team behind since-departed Joe Dunand.
In the infield, sophomore Will Wilson was named a freshman All-American by multiple publications as a second baseman. He will likely shift to shortstop to replace Dunand. Senior Stephen Pitarra returns as the leadoff hitter. He likely takes Wilson’s spot at second after Pitarra filled the void at first base last year. Senior Shane Shepard and junior Evan Edwards, a junior college transfer, will compete for the first base spot. At third base, freshmen Devonte Brown and David Vazquez along with redshirt sophomore Dillon Cooper will fight for playing time.
The Pack has a hole at catcher after Andy Cosgrove had a huge season and was drafted by the Minnesota Twins. Freshman Patrick Bailey was drafted in the 37th round out of high school but elected to join the Wolfpack. He will get plenty of playing time but will get competition from junior Jack Conley. Sophomore Brad Debo led the team with a .335 batting average and .387 on-base percentage. He’s listed as a catcher but was primarily the designated hitter last year. Avent will get Debo in the lineup every day, somehow, whether it be at designated hitter, catcher or potentially even first base.
Graduate pitcher Johnny Piedmonte was granted a sixth year of eligibility which was huge for Avent and pitching coach Scott Foxhall. Piedmonte was arguably State’s best pitcher with a 2.77 ERA last year. Senior Brian Brown has been the definition of reliable through three seasons and will look to build off his 3.76 ERA from last year. Sophomore Michael Bienlien started ten games and showed flashes of his potential, but will look to build consistency. These three staying healthy is potentially the biggest key to the success of the season.
NC State lost sophomore Dalton Feeney to Tommy John surgery last year and he will not pitch this season. Other guys will need to step up in his absence, like sophomores Kent Klyman and Mathieu Gauthier. They pitched well in limited action last year but will be called upon more this year and could be asked to start some games.
Redshirt junior Austin Staley and redshirt senior Joe O’Donnell will anchor the bullpen. The Pack will need to monitor their usage throughout the season so that they can be fresh for the ACC and NCAA tournament. To do that, freshmen like David Harrison, Reid Johnston and Nick Swiney will need to step up. Having freshmen perform well has never been an issue for Avent, and if that trend continues, the Pack will be very dangerous in May.
One player to keep an eye on is Deatherage. He hit .317 and was the Pack’s best player in 2016. He struggled last year but his ability is not an issue. If he returns to his sophomore year production, NC State can exceed expectations.
Not many teams will be able to match the experience that NC State will field on an everyday basis. The Wolfpack historically has been a better team when expectations are lower. Expectations are lower, relatively, this year, and if the Pack stays healthy, it has the ability and experience to make another NCAA tournament run and get past the regional round after excruciating losses in the last three years.
