As the fall sports season for NC State Athletics comes to a close, a new one begins. With winter sports right around the corner, here are the names of student athletes that you should keep your eye on.
Men’s Basketball: Terquavion Smith
It was no secret that the NC State men’s basketball team failed to meet expectations in the 2021-22 season. However, sophomore guard Terquavion Smith was anything but a disappointment.
Smith, a 4-star recruit out of Farmville, North Carolina, exceeded expectations last season, making the All-ACC Rookie Team and receiving an honorable mention to the All-ACC team. The numbers don’t do Smith’s season justice, as he averaged 16.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists on 39.8% from the field. However, anyone that watched the Wolfpack last year knows how impressive Smith’s game is.
Standing at 6-foot-4-inches and weighing 165 pounds, Smith is long, has an explosive first step and despite being right handed, he seems to love his left-handed dunk. His biggest asset though, is his confidence. There’s no shot he won’t take, and no matter how many times he’s missed, he’ll keep taking the tough shots and keep making them.
Surprisingly, Smith forgoed the draft and came back to play his sophomore season out with the Wolfpack. His combine was so impressive that he was projected to go in the first round before withdrawing himself from the draft, deciding to run it back in Raleigh for at least another year.
As “Baby T” returns for his second season, he enters with some high expectations as a selection to the preseason All-ACC First Team. With a big year ahead for the men’s basketball team, Smith’s sophomore season is set to be an exciting one to say the least.
Women’s Basketball: Saniya Rivers
This season, sophomore guard Saniya Rivers will don a different shade of red when she makes her NC State debut after transferring from South Carolina in the offseason. Her last season as a Gamecock wasn’t a wild one, averaging 2.3 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists on 24.5% shooting from the field. However, coming out of high school, Rivers was the number three ranked player in the country and the number two ranked guard. In her senior year of high school she was the Gatorade National Player of the Year, averaging 36.8 points, 11.5 rebounds and 5.3 steals per game, and she was even named to the ACC Newcomer Watchlist.
It was clear Rivers did not have the freshman year that she, or anyone else, expected to. But with a fresh start in Raleigh, Rivers will look to return to her high school form and help keep the NC State women’s basketball team in the hunt for its fourth straight ACC Championship.
Wrestling: Trent Hidlay
Redshirt junior Trent Hidlay recently took home a silver medal at the U23 world championships. Just days later, he’s currently preparing for the upcoming NC State wrestling season. In 2021, Hidlay was an ACC champion and made the All-American First Team, but his 2022 season was even more impressive. Hidlay became ACC champion for the second year in a row, once again finishing on the All-American First Team.
Hidlay also finished fifth at the NCAA Championships, was the ACC Scholar Athlete of the Year and a CoSIDA Academic All-American. As Hidlay enters his fourth season, he’ll look to emulate his past successes and continue to improve as a wrestler and compete for a national title.
Gymnastics: Emily Shepard
Senior Emily Shepard’s 2022 campaign was incredible. She had the most podium finishes for the Wolfpack, finishing the year with 22 — eight in first place, 10 in second place, and four in third place. Her list of 2022 accolades is a lengthy one as she was All-EAGL First Team for bars, beam and floor, and she was EAGL All-Tournament First Team for vault, bars, beam, floor and all-around. For beam and all-around Shepard won individual titles, becoming the Wolfpack’s first individual champion since 2019. Shepard returns to the Wolfpack for her senior year poised to have another incredible season, as she hopes to add even more titles to her never-ending list.
Swimming: Nyls Korstanje
Senior Nyls Korstanje was another member of the Pack with a stellar junior season. Competing for NC State swim and dive, he broke the program record in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 44.17 seconds and finished fourth at the NCAA Championships. Korstanje also had the second-best mark in program history in the 50-yard freestyle finishing fifth at the NCAA championships with a personal best time of 18.66 seconds. He received All-American honors in the 50m freestyle, 100-yard butterfly, 200-yard medley relay, 400-yard medley relay, 200-yard freestyle relay and 400-yard freestyle relay.
As Korstanje returns for his senior season, he’ll be looking to win an NCAA title and maybe even break the school record for the 50-yard freestyle.
Diving: Helene Synnott
Senior Helene Synnott was the NC State women’s diving squad’s most impressive competitor in 2021-22, scoring the highest score on the one meter, three meter and platform dives. She had top-20 finishes in all three events at the ACC championships, finishing 16th in the one-meter, 19th in the three-meter and 16th in the platform. Synnott looks to build on her impressive 21-22 and improve on it, having an even better 22-23 season to wrap up her career at NC State.
