NC State baseball named NCAA Regional host, full bracket to be released Monday
The Raleigh Regional is reality. NC State will host an NCAA Tournament regional this week at Doak Field, as announced by the selection committee Sunday night via social media.
It marks the seventh time NC State has hosted a regional since Elliott Avent took the program over in 1997 — the first since 2018. Avent has now guided the Wolfpack to 21 regional appearances in his tenure.
NC State is one of 16 national seeds in the tournament, and it was joined by four other ACC programs in hosting this week. The NCAA, however, did not release the seeds for the tournament — those will be announced when the full field is unveiled Monday at noon on ESPN2.
The Wolfpack, which surged through the ACC in the final month of the season with five ranked league series victories, earned the right to host with an RPI of 15 entering the selection show.
While the bracket will not be released until Monday afternoon, the Wolfpack’s regional is starting to take shape among the national media outlets.
D1Baseball projected the Pack as the No. 12 national seed, hosting East Carolina, James Madison and High Point, in its latest bracket prediction. Baseball America, meanwhile, slotted NC State as the No. 10 national seed, hosting South Carolina, Coastal Carolina and High Point.
NC State enters NCAA Tournament play after it went 1-1 at the ACC Tournament, beating Virginia Tech 19-9 before losing to eventual conference champion Duke, 8-1.
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But as the Wolfpack prepares to host a regional, it has been powered — offensively — by its veteran corner infielders.
Graduate third baseman Alec Makarewicz paces the Pack’s lineup with a .376 batting average, 19 home runs and 71 RBI — the only player on the roster above 60. Graduate first baseman Garrett Pennington, meanwhile, isn’t far behind with a .345 average, 14 homers, 59 RBI and a team-best 23 doubles.
NC State’s starting pitching has also been led by the veteran arms.
Graduate right-hander Sam Highfill anchors the rotation with a 5-2 record in 14 starts. He has logged 68 innings pitched with 69 strikeouts, 36 walks and a 5.56 ERA. Graduate lefty Logan Whitaker boasts a 2-1 mark in 10 appearances (seven starts) with 46 strikeouts to just 16 walks and a 6.70 ERA in 41.2 innings pitched. Sophomore left-hander Dominic Fritton rounds out the Pack’s starting bunch with a 3-5 mark in 14 starts. He has 64 strikeouts with 39 walks and a 7.00 ERA in 63 innings pitched for the Pack,
It’s bullpen however, it has been a youth movement.
Freshman left-handers Cooper Consiglio and Ryan Marohn are efficient long relievers — 80 combined strikeouts in 94.1 innings — while righty Jacob Dudan is an effective back end arm that has a fastball topping out at 98 mph.
