Ranked as high as No. 2 in national polls, NC State baseball had huge expectations going into the last stretch of the season after starting 31-8. Then, the Pack was swept by UNC-Chapel Hill and later lost a series in Tallahassee against Florida State to close out the season.
Head coach Elliott Avent’s team was unable to rebound in any postseason play. NC State suffered losses to Virginia and Florida State to be eliminated from the ACC Championship in Durham.
There was still hope as the Pack was able to sneak into hosting a regional in the NCAA Tournament, but fell short against Army to open up the weekend. Although the Wolfpack came back with two more wins, Auburn went undefeated in the Raleigh Regional to advance.
NC State fans can still celebrate the 42-18 record, the postseason berth and increased national attention, but the ceiling to this team seemed to be much higher than the disappointing outcome.
Individual Success
NC State baseball had many outstanding players this season that contributed to a successful team.
Senior pitcher Brian Brown was the focal point of the pitching staff and earned himself ACC Pitcher of the Year honors with a 7-2 record and a 2.74 ERA while pitching 98.2 innings. He was named to the First-Team All ACC, Second-Team All American by Collegiate Baseball and was also named a semifinalist for the USA Baseball Golden Spikes award. Brown was drafted in the ninth round of the MLB draft by the Boston Red Sox.
Perhaps the player who made the most noise was junior left fielder Brett Kinneman who led the nation in home runs in the beginning weeks of the season. He finished batting .274 and led the team with 17 long balls. Kinneman was a First-Team All ACC and Third-Team All American and was drafted in the seventh round of the MLB draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Freshman catcher Patrick Bailey was the most impactful freshman on the team, and in the ACC, as he earned ACC Freshman of the Year while batting .321 and slugging .604 with 13 homers. Bailey was also named to the Second-Team All ACC and the All-Freshman Team by Collegiate Baseball.
Another player who will be missed is senior center fielder Josh McLain who hit an incredible .344 on the season and led the ACC in hits with 94 and was drafted in the ninth round by the Los Angeles Dodgers. McLain earned First-Team All ACC honors along with sophomore shortstop Will Wilson, who was also Second-Team All American. Wilson hit .307 with 15 homers.
Senior closer Joe O’Donnell was named to the Third-Team All ACC and was a semifinalist for Pitcher of the Year. Senior right fielder Brock Deatherage was named to the Second-Team All ACC and drafted in the 10th round by the Detroit Tigers while freshman pitcher Reid Johnston was on the ACC and National All-Freshman Team.
All the pieces were there to create a deep run this season and to finally get back to the College World Series but late season struggles delayed that accomplishment for at least one more season.
NC State lost multiple key parts to the MLB, but has a large group of freshmen who produced at high levels this season to fill the void. Although the result of the season did not reach expectations, it could be a building block of more successful years to come as the Pack’s young talent develops.
