It’s no secret that NC State baseball’s offense is an inexperienced bunch after departures from six of its top offensive threats from last year’s College World Series team. Despite the movement, players were optimistic about the future and looked forward to what the season ahead will bring.
Senior pitcher Carson Kelly is embracing a roster where 25 of its 39 players are underclassmen. Kelly is trying to become a player they can look up to.
“Last year, I was like the 25th oldest, and now I’m like second or third oldest, so it’s been a change,” Kelly said. “But I like having all the freshmen here. I kind of got to take them under my wing and show them the ropes, so it’s been fun having this role.”
Alongside its youthful offensive core is a veteran pitching staff featuring names such as Kelly, juniors Dominic Fritton and Derrick Smith — just to name a few.
One of the Pack’s younger additions is sophomore infielder Chris McHugh, who transferred in from VCU after a stellar season where he recorded 56 hits and six home runs as a freshman.
McHugh thinks the talent he sees in his teammates is more important than a lack of experience.
“With young teams, I think that usually just means a lot of guys — freshmen, transfers — get a chance right out of the gate,” McHugh said. “I don’t think it’s that big of a deal honestly, experience. I just think talent brings it all together … just believe and trust that, just because you haven’t played that many seasons because you’re a young guy, it doesn’t matter. It’s just baseball.”
NC State’s young guns will be counted on early in the season, because although it begins the 2025 campaign with a series against Fordham and a midweek game against Liberty, it will soon face stiffer opponents a week into the season at the JAX baseball classic from Feb. 21-23, facing Ohio State, Alabama and Coastal Carolina.
Instead of seeing tougher competition as an obstacle, sophomore catcher Alex Sosa views it as an opportunity to grow and develop as a team before it starts conference play.
“Last year, playing midweek games, our midweek local teams were ranked top 15 or top 20 in the country, so I mean, we’ve seen all the rankings and stuff,” Sosa said. “There is a ton of competition here, and anytime you can play good talent, it’s always good for the team.”
Sosa has taken on a role as a vocal leader in just his second season, having grown up quickly after being thrust into a major role his freshman season. Although it seems Sosa is one of the Pack’s leaders, head coach Elliott Avent stressed that he isn’t taking too much stock in preseason team dynamics.
“I don’t think you see leadership until things go bad,” Avent said. “Anybody can lead when your horse is leading down front. Anybody can do that. Anybody can be a winner. What’s tough is when things go bad — see what happens then.”
As the long and tough college baseball season progresses, Avent will find out who the real leaders are. The hope around Doak Field is that leaders will emerge on a young team and help the Pack get back to another College World Series or its first ACC Championship since 1992.
