The NC State Wolfpack baseball team is the varsity intercollegiate

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

program of

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The univers ...

, based in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Sout ...

, United States. The team has been a member of the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Assoc ...

since the conference's founding in the 1954 season. The program's home venue is

Doak Field Doak Field (or The Doak) is a baseball venue in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. It opened in 1966 and is home to the North Carolina State University Wolfpack college baseball team of the NCAA's Division I Atlantic Coast Conference (A ...

, which opened in 1966.

Elliott Avent Elliott Avent (born May 1, 1956) is a baseball coach, who is the current head baseball coach of the NC State Wolfpack. He attended North Carolina State University, but he did not play for the baseball program. In his 25th season of coaching the Wo ...

has been the head coach of the team since prior to the 1997 season. As of the end of the 2015 season, the Wolfpack have appeared in three College World Series and 32 NCAA Tournaments. They have won four ACC Tournament Championships and four ACC Regular Season Championships. As of the 2021 Major League Baseball season, 47 former Wolfpack players have played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

History

The baseball program played its first official game against

Guilford College Guilford College is a private liberal arts college in Greensboro, North Carolina. Guilford has both traditional students and students who attend its Center for Continuing Education (CCE). Founded in 1837 by members of the Religious Society o ...

in 1894. The program began varsity play in 1903, playing at

Riddick Stadium Riddick Stadium (opened 1907, closed 1965) was a college football stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina, and home to the North Carolina State University Wolfpack football team. When the stadium was first opened, it was referred to as New Athletic Pa ...

, and in 1907 won its first State Championship. The program competed in each season until 1914, when the program was discontinued for three seasons (1914–1916) before being revived prior to the 1917 season. The team's nickname was the "Farmers" until autumn 1921, when an

alumnus Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...

complained that the behavior of some of the school's football players was "as unruly as a pack of wolves." Subsequently, newspapers began referring to the school's athletic teams as the "Wolfpack." The program's current venue,

, opened in 1966. NC State made its first College World Series appearance in

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * J ...

, in the second season of head coach Sammy Esposito's tenure. In the World Series, the team lost in the semifinals to eventual champion

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses ** South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

. Since the NCAA Tournament's format was changed in

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

to include the Super Regional round, NC State has appeared in five Super Regionals, losing to

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...

, Georgia in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, and

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

, beating

Rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

, and Arkansas in 2021. The Wolfpack have hosted five NCAA Regionals, one at

Wilson, North Carolina Wilson is a city in and the county seat of Wilson County, North Carolina, United States. Located approximately east of the capital city of Raleigh, it is served by the interchange of Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 264. Wilson had an estimated p ...

Fleming Stadium Fleming Stadium is a sports stadium in Wilson, North Carolina. It is primarily used for baseball and is the home of the Wilson Tobs of the Coastal Plain League. It opened in 1939 and has a capacity of 3,000 people. The grounds are also home to the ...

(in 2003) and four at

(in 2008, 2012, 2013, 2016).

Conference affiliations

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

− 1903–1913, 1917–1921 * Southern Conference − 1922–1953 *

− 1954–present

Venues

Riddick Stadium

Prior to 1966, the team played at Riddick Stadium, which was also home to the NC State football program.

Doak Field

The Wolfpack's home venue is

, which opened in 1966 and has a capacity of 3,000 spectators. The field is named for

Charles Doak Charles Glenn "Chick" Doak (October 7, 1884 – April 21, 1956) coached baseball at North Carolina State University from 1924 to 1939 where he accumulated 145 wins, 131 losses, 6 ties. Doak also played in the minor leagues and coached several col ...

, who was the program's head coach from 1924–1939.

Head coaches

The program's most successful head coach was Sammy Esposito. Esposito coached teams to four ACC regular season championships, three ACC tournament championships, and one College World Series appearance in his 21-year tenure. Current head coach Elliot Avent is the program's leader in total career victories at NC State, with 951 as of April 25th, 2022. Avent became the program's winningest coach on May 9, 2010, in a 21–0 NC State win over Towson. The win was Avent's 514th, putting him past Sammy Esposito on the program's career wins list. Coach Avent is also the program's longest tenured head coach, with 22 seasons in the position.

Vic Sorrell Victor Garland Sorrell (April 9, 1901 – May 4, 1972), nicknamed "Lawyer" and "The Philosopher," was a Major League pitcher who played his entire career with the Detroit Tigers. In 10 Major League seasons, Sorrell had a 92–101 record with a 4 ...

and Sammy Esposito each served as head coach for 21 seasons. {, border="0" style="width:100%;" , - , valign="top" , {, cellpadding="1" border="1" cellspacing="0" style="width:57%;" , - ! style="background:#c00; width:15%;color:white;", Year(s) ! style="background:#c00; width:16%;color:white;", Coach ! style="background:#c00; width:6%;color:white;", Seasons ! style="background:#c00; width:15%;color:white;", W-L-T ! style="background:#c00; width:5%;color:white;", Pct , - style="text-align:center;" , 1903–1904 , C. D. Welch , 2 , 20–15–0 , .571 , - style="text-align:center;" , 1905–1906 , M. J. Kittredge , 2 , 16–12–0 , .571 , - style="text-align:center;" , 1907 , W. W. "Win" Clark , 1 , 14–8–0 , .636 , - style="text-align:center;" , 1908–1911 , Frank Thompson , 4 , 70–16–4 , .800 , - style="text-align:center;" , 1912 , Edward Green , 1 , 13–6–1 , .675 , - style="text-align:center;" , 1913 , Fred Anderson , 1 , 6–0–0 , 1.000 , - style="text-align:center;" , 1917–1918, 1921–1923 , Harry Hartsell , 5 , 52–37–4 , .581 , - style="text-align:center;" , 1919 , Tal Stafford , 1 , 12–11–0 , .522 , - style="text-align:center;" , 1920 , Bill Fetzer , 1 , 14–6–0 , .700 , - style="text-align:center;" , 1924–1939 ,

, 16 , 147–129–6 , .533 , - style="text-align:center;" , 1940–1944 , Williams Newton , 5 , 16–50–0 , .242 , - style="text-align:center;" , 1945 ,

Beattie Feathers William Beattie "Big Chief" Feathers (August 20, 1909 – March 11, 1979) was an American football player and coach of football and baseball. He played college football and college basketball at the University of Tennessee. Early life and colle ...

, 1 , 7–6–0 , .538 , - style="text-align:center;" , 1946–1966 ,

, 21 , 223–196–5 , .532 , - style="text-align:center;" , 1967–1987 , Sammy Esposito , 21 , 513–253–4 , .669 , - style="text-align:center;" , 1988–1996 ,

Ray Tanner Donald Ray Tanner Jr. (born March 25, 1958) is an American college athletics administrator and former baseball coach who is the athletic director at the University of South Carolina-Columbia, University of South Carolina, a position he took on Jul ...

, 9 , 395–173–3 , .694 , - style="text-align:center;" , 1997–present ,

, 25 , 926–550 , , - style="text-align:center; background:#c00; color:white;" , Totals , 16 , 107 , 2,444–1,327–27 , .619

Yearly record

Wolfpack Baseball Yearly record

Individual awards

National awards

Brooks Wallace Award The Brooks Wallace Award is an award given by the College Baseball Foundation (CBF) to the best college baseball shortstop of the year. The award has been given annually since 2004. Until 2008 the award was presented to the nation's most outstandi ...

Trea Turner Trea Vance Turner (born June 30, 1993) is an American professional baseball shortstop for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers. Turner ...

(2014) Ricahrd W. "Dick" Case Award * Carlos Rodon (2013)

Conference awards

ACC Baseball Player of the Year *Chris Cammack (1969) * Mike Caldwell (baseball) (1971) * Tracy Woodson (1984) *Turtle Zaun (1988) ACC Baseball Coach of the Year * Sammy Esposito (1984) * Sammy Esposito (1986) *

(1990) *

(2003) ACC Baseball Rookie of the Year *Tom Sergio (1994) * Carlos Rodon (2012) *

Patrick Bailey (baseball) Patrick Bailey (born May 29, 1999) is an American professional baseball catcher for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball at North Carolina State University, and was selected 13th overall by the ...

(2018) * Tommy White (baseball) (2022) ACC Baseball Pitcher of the Year * Carlos Rodon (2012) *Brian Brown (2018)

Notable players

Below is a list of notable players of the program and the seasons in which they played for the Wolfpack. * Andy Barkett (1992–1995) * Brian Bark (1987–1990) *

Aaron Bates Aaron Bates (born March 10, 1984) is an American retired professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball for the Boston Red Sox in 2009. He is currently one of the hitting coaches for the Los Angeles Dodgers. College NCAA ...

(2005–2006) *

Greg Briley Gregory Briley (born May 24, 1965), nicknamed "Pee Wee", is a former Major League Baseball outfielder who played for the Seattle Mariners and Florida Marlins from 1988 to 1993. Briley attended North Carolina State University, where he played col ...

(1986) * Jimmy Brown (1932) * Dick Burrus (1919) * Mike Caldwell (1968–1971) * Doug Davis (1982–1984) * Joe DeBerry (1917–1920) * Joey Devine (2003–2005) *

Bill Evans William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, block ch ...

(1915) * Adam Everett (1996) * Stu Flythe (1934–1936) *

Jeff Hartsock Jeffrey Roger Hartsock (born November 19, 1966) is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher who played for the Chicago Cubs in 1992. Amateur career A native of Fairfield, Ohio, Hartsock is an alumnus of North Carolina State Universit ...

(1986–1988) * Dutch Holland (1923–1925) * Andrew Knizner (2014-2016) *

Johnny Lanning John Young Lanning (September 6, 1910 – November 8, 1989) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1936 to 1947 for the Boston Bees, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Boston Braves. Lanning's main pitc ...

(1931–1932) * Corey Lee (1994–1996) *

Matt Mangini Matthew Steven Mangini (born December 21, 1985) is an American former Major League Baseball infielder who played for the Seattle Mariners in 2010. College career Mangini played college baseball for both the NC State Wolfpack and Oklahoma State C ...

(2005–2006) * Jim McNamara (1984–86) * Louie Meadows (1980–82) * George Murray (1918–21) *

Chad Orvella Chad Robert Orvella (born October 1, 1980) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) relief pitcher who played for the Tampa Bay Rays from 2005 to 2007. He played collegiate baseball for Columbia Basin College and North Carolina State U ...

(2002–2003) * Chink Outen (1927–1928) * Jeff Pierce (1990–1991) * Dan Plesac (1981–1983) * Buck Redfern (1921–1924) * Dave Robertson (1910–1912) * Carlos Rodon (2012–2014) * Tommy Smith (1972–1974) * Tim Stoddard (1972–1975) * Doug Strange (1983–1985) *

Eric Surkamp Eric Michael Surkamp (born July 16, 1987) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher who played for the San Francisco Giants, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Oakland Athletics from 2011 to 2016. He also pitched for the ...

(2006) * Jim Toman (1981–1984) *

(2012–2014) *

Russell Wilson Russell Carrington Wilson (born November 29, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played his first 10 seasons for the Seattle Seahawks. Wilson is widely regarded ...

(2008–2010) * Will Wilson (2016–2019) * Tracy Woodson (1982–1984)

Current MLB Roster

Former Wolfpack players on current MLB rosters as of May 28, 2022. {, class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center;" , - !style="background: #e3e3e3;", Player !style="background: #e3e3e3;", Position !style="background: #e3e3e3;", Number !style="background: #e3e3e3;", Team , - , Andrew Knizner , C , 7 , St. Louis Cardinals , - , Carlos Rodon , P , 16 ,

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yo ...

, - ,

, SS , 6 ,

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League West, West division. Established in 1883 i ...

Major League Baseball Draft

2012

In the

2012 Major League Baseball Draft The 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 4 through June 6, 2012, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Houston Astros, with the first overall pick, selected Carlos Correa from the Puerto ...

, two NC State players were selected. Junior

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

Chris Diaz was selected in the 11th round by the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

, and senior

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

Ryan Mathews was selected in the 27th round by the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...

. Both players signed contracts with their respective organizations.

2014

In the

2014 Major League Baseball Draft The 2014 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 5 through June 7, 2014, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first two rounds were conducted on June 5, followed by rounds three through ten on June ...

, two NC State players were selected in the first round. Junior

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or dr ...

Carlos Rodon was selected 3rd overall in the 1st round by the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

, and shortstop

was selected 13th overall by the San Diego Padres.

References

External links

* {{Atlantic Coast Conference baseball navbox