NC State prepares to begin season without star transfer Caitlin Weimar

Caitlin Weimar was NC State women’s basketball’s only transfer portal addition of the 2024 cycle. She is the reigning Patriot League player of the year and won consecutive conference defensive player of the year awards with Boston University. 

The rim-running, shot-blocking center was likely going to be a fixture in the Wolfpack’s front court this season, but an injury will keep her sidelined for the foreseeable future. Head coach Wes Moore shared with TheWolfpacker.com in September that Weimar was dealing with a hip issue. 

He confirmed Thursday afternoon that she will undergo surgery next week, and the team is preparing to start the season without her. 

“We’ll see how that recovery goes, but we’re going to have to make plans to do it without her for the time being for sure,” Moore said. “It’s disappointing because she was the veteran grad student that we had hoped could come in and take on a major role with the loss of River [Baldwin] and Mimi [Collins]. So yeah, it’s definitely a setback for us.”

NC State will have to adjust. The Pack’s backcourt is deep and long enough to run four guard lineups. Guards Saniya Rivers and Madison Hayes combined to average 12.9 rebounds per game last season and crashed the boards with intention. 

Moore has acknowledged that playing just one forward in some lineups remains a possibility. NC State wants to run this season, playing at a blistering pace with point guards Zoe Brooks and Zamareya Jones handling the ball while Rivers and Aziaha James streak down the court for easy buckets. 

None of that is possible unless the Pack dedicates itself to the glass. NC State ranked No. 4 in the ACC last year with a +5.3 rebounding margin. Following a run to the Final Four, the Pack checked in at No. 9 in the preseason Associated Press Poll. 

“This group is probably picked too high because I think people are undervaluing what River Baldwin and Mimi Collins did for us in every aspect— Scoring, leadership, toughness, rebounding,” Moore said. 

“Experience wise, they both had five years of Power Five experience playing at a high level and now we’re going to ask players that either have been role players, or players that are freshmen, new players, so it’s a big ask of them to try to step in and fill those roles.”

Both Collins and Baldwin missed time due to injuries last year, and NC State’s most frequent response was a four guard lineup that moved Brooks into the starting group and asked Hayes to play the four. 

The experienced Wolfpack wing took a leap as a senior, averaging career-highs in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals and three point percentage. 

“With the small lineup that we do have with the guards, I think it’ll be really, really helpful to show something different this year,” Hayes said Thursday. “Coach Moore has done a great job giving us different things, different options that we can use with different lineups that are in.”

NC State will rely on a young nucleus of post players that includes sophomores Maddie Cox and Mallory Collier alongside freshmen Lorena Awou and Tilda Trygger. Graduate Lizzy Williamson is also back after playing a limited role last year. 

The Pack tips off its season Nov. 5, and Moore said this season’s front court needs to continue progressing. 

“We’ve got a long way to go,” Moore said. 

Moore is going to ask a lot out of that group as they try to fill the void left by the departures of Collins and Baldwin along with the injury to Weimar. The head coach is trying to temper the hype around this group as a result. 

But those expectations are not going anywhere. NC State went to the Final Four last year after the media left the team out of the preseason AP Poll. The bar remains high for the Wolfpack. Moore understands that last year’s tournament run that created a perception that extends beyond the team’s frontcourt depth. 

“You’ve created a monster, and now you’ve got to feed it, and that’s the tough part,” Moore said.