Two NC State baseball players, freshmen right-handed pitcher Sam Highfill and left-hander Chris Villaman, have been named to the 2021 Collegiate National Team for USA Baseball. Wolfpack baseball student coach Josh Pike also joins head coach Elliott Avent’s coaching staff.

Highfill has been a crucial part of the Pack’s pitching staff this postseason, giving up only four earned runs in 25.1 innings pitched in his last four games. This span includes two shutout outings, as he gave up only five hits in 5.1 innings pitched against Louisiana Tech in the Ruston Regional and only two hits in 7.1 innings pitched against Vanderbilt in Omaha.

Villaman has also pitched well for the Wolfpack down the stretch, as he has only given up eight earned runs in 30 innings pitched since the beginning of May. Villaman has been a solid second option out of the bullpen behind junior left-hander Evan Justice, tossing 60 innings in 18 appearances. He’s also started seven games for the Pack, with one stellar performance coming in a one-hit complete game shutout of UNC-Greensboro on March 30.

Team USA plays a series of intrasquad games from July 2 to July 15. With at least one NC State player on the roster for the fourth consecutive year and Avent bringing Pike onto the coaching staff, the Wolfpack will be well represented as Team USA travels between 10 of the 11 cities in the Appalachian League.