NC State softball has a completely revamped roster for the 2023 season, with only nine of the 21 players on the roster returning from last season. Last year, the Pack finished with a solid 33-23 record but ended 7-17 in the ACC.
Thus far, the red-and-white has yet to win a game, going 0-5 in the Candrea Classic. The implications of these losses have yet to be determined with the team just getting the season started, but nonconference losses are not a pattern the Pack will look to continue. The home opener for NC State is on Fri. Feb. 17 against Iowa — the first game of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
The spotlight this season will be on the younger core of this Wolfpack squad as it looks to keep NC State above .500 and fill the void left by the 11 players gone from last year.
Infielders
The Pack has an experienced group of infielders, with the only first-year player being freshman Nadia Sykes. This group is led by redshirt junior Libby Whittaker, a starter on first-base and the holder of last year’s best batting average in ACC play with a .353 mark. Another standout at the plate is sophomore Michele Tarpey, who tallied four home runs last year and was third on the team in doubles with eight total.
Junior Kaylee Lambrecht has been the biggest source of consistency for the Pack, starting all 56 games last year and leading the team in at-bats, runs and stolen bases. The trio of Whittaker, Tarpey and Lambrecht, along with other veteran players, will be responsible for pacing the Wolfpack all season and showing the younger players the ropes.
Outfielders
The group of outfielders for the 2023 season are all fairly new outside of junior Gracie Roberts, who was not a full-time starter at the position last year. The Pack had two vets finish their respective collegiate careers last season in Carson Shaner and Brittany Jackson, both of whom started in the outfield for the majority of games last season.
NC State brought in two graduate student outfielders to fill the vacant spots, Katlyn Pavlick and Rebecca Murray. Both women bring experience the team sorely needs, with Pavlick playing four years at Pitt and Murray playing four years at Elon.
Pitchers/Catchers/Other
The Pack has three freshman pitchers all looking to make an impact on the team, and all three have made appearances early in the season. Madison Inscoe has shown versatility, playing first base against Arizona and recording three strikeouts against Long Beach State.
Rylee Wyman has made three appearances thus far and recorded a strikeout against Arizona; something Wynne Gore also achieved in the same game. Gore has played the most out of the three, but as the season goes on it looks like all three will be out on the field during most games at one point or another.
Here is a complete look at who the Pack lost, who returns and who joins in 2023:
Gone: Shaner, Jackson, Gress, Morris, Farricker, Allen, Sack, Johnson, Schmeiser, Chamberlain, McPherson
Returning: Haislip, Tarpey, Whittaker, Lambrecht, Weixlmann, Smith, Roberts, Lucero, Ensley
New: Sykes, Hasler, Gore, Goins, Wilson, Marbury, Inscoe, Wyman, Pavlick, Edwards, Goodwin, Murray
