Like legendary NC State coaches Jim Valvano and Kay Yow, NC State baseball head coach Elliott Avent has a dream — one that extends far beyond the game of baseball and will leave a lasting legacy, like his former colleagues left.

Valvano founded The V Foundation for Cancer Research, which has raised almost $400 million.

Yow created the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, which has generated millions.

Now, Avent’s Victory Over Cancer Game is fueling research for pediatric cancer.

“Being a part of this pediatric cancer game to me means as much as all the years that I have spent here,” Avent said. “Knowing what it will do in years to come and hopefully make a difference in so many kids and families’ lives.”

This Saturday against Clemson, NC State hosts the second annual Victory Over Cancer Game, aiming to surpass the $50,000 raised in last year’s inaugural event. The Wolfpack will wear gold jerseys — symbolizing pediatric cancer — and invite kids battling cancer to join them on the field, play catch and run the bases.

A young man named Brady — who recently “rang the bell” to mark the end of a treatment — will throw out the first pitch.

For Avent, the cause is personal. His nine-year-old nephew, Shane, has been battling a brain tumor and threw out the first pitch at last year’s event. Avent said Shane is doing “great” and awaits a hopeful MRI this Friday.

“It’s not just what he goes through, which is one thing, it’s how bravely Shane fights it,” Avent said. “You feel bad for him, but he doesn’t feel bad for himself. He’s just a normal child that goes about life, playing and having fun with kids, going to parties and going to school. How bravely these kids fight this is so incredible.”

The idea came together last year thanks to former Wolfpack star and current Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner and his wife Kristen, a former NC State gymnast. They wanted to launch a pediatric cancer fund and brought the idea to Avent. Together, they partnered with the V Foundation to create this game.

As a player in Raleigh, Turner often heard Avent’s stories about Valvano — tales that made Valvano’s legacy personal. Valvano founded the V Foundation just months before cancer took his life, leaving a mark that shaped both Avent and Turner.

“[Valvano] is one of the more special human beings that I’ve ever had the pleasure to be around in my life,” Avent said. “To see what Coach V did at the end of his life, he started something that he had no idea would grow into what it did for cancer research and to help so many people.”

They were also inspired by the Play4Kay game, which began at NC State to raise money and awareness for women’s cancer research and has since grown to include more than 1,000 participating schools. Avent hopes something similar happens in baseball, where every Division I, II and III school has a similar game.

“It all starts with a small step,” Avent said. “Hopefully a small step that we started at NC State can grow into a bigger step, and then a skip, and then maybe a leap, to get this throughout the country and just create so much awareness which creates funds, which creates research, which creates solutions and ideas and possibly cures for children that have to grow up with something that no child should grow up with.”

Avent’s influence is already spreading. This week, the ACC is hosting its first-ever Baseball Cancer Awareness Week, an initiative he proposed. Pittsburgh will be supporting pediatric cancer research this weekend, and Wake Forest auctioned off yellow jerseys last week to benefit Brenner Children’s Hospital and pediatric cancer research. Outside of the ACC, Texas A&M recently had a Turn It Gold series to fund research for childhood cancer.

The game’s impact isn’t just felt by children — it resonates with NC State’s players.

Freshman center fielder Ty Head remembers seeing this event when he was a senior in high school last year. Head, who would’ve been drafted in the MLB if he entered his name, came to NC State in part because of the charitable traditions the university is known for.

“I’m grateful to be able to participate in this opportunity,” Head said. “It shows how great this university is and how much we care, and the determination to help find research and give as much money as possible for those who are struggling.”

Head’s gratitude is exactly the type of impact Avent hopes to see every year. For him, this game is a chance for his players to gain perspective on life beyond baseball.

“It’s good for our players to give them a sense of how fortunate they are and how much they can give back in their career,” Avent said. “It just shows them what life is all about, and it’s just not about playing the game and the successes and the failures that you go through in this game of baseball. It’s much, much more than that.”

With more time to prepare this year and growing awareness surrounding the game, NC State’s goal is to raise at least $60,000. While that’s the goal, Avent believes Wolfpack Nation can exceed that number.

Whatever the final number may be, one thing is certain: Avent’s legacy, like Valvano and Yow’s, will far extend beyond the diamond.

“My platform is NC State baseball, but my purpose is much greater than that,” Avent said. “If I could use my platform to create a purpose that makes lives better for other people, I think that’s what it’s all about.”

Support the Victory Over Cancer Game by donating here.