Shane Van Dam commits to NC State baseball
NC State baseball has been busy landing players from the transfer portal, with the two most recent additions being lineup additions. The latest pledge though offers the potential to help on the mound. Shane Van Dam, a freshman from Division III Courtland, is transferring to NC State.
Van Dam was once named to the D3Basball.com National Team of the Week in May, part of a season during which the 6-foot-5, 200-pounder from Cranford, N.J., went 2-1 on the mound with a 3.07 earned run average (ERA) in 15 appearances, including a trio of starts. Van Dam also had three saves.
In 29.1 innings of work, Van Dam allowed just 16 hits while fanning an impressive 43. That is an average of over 13.1 strikeouts per nine innings pitched. He also gave up only one home runs and walked 13 batters.
Van Dam was a two-sport star at Cranford High and also was on the Courtland High football roster as a quarterback.
Earlier in June, NC State baseball landed a verbal commitment from UNC Wilmington transfer and Garner native Brett Banks, who like Van Dam offers the potential to help NC State on the mound.
Banks had eight saves for UNCW, helping the Seahawks win the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) and reach the NCAA Tournament. Banks posted a 3.99 earned run average (ERA) in 38.1 innings, allowing 31 hits and 21 walks but impressively striking out 44.
Banks is eligible for the upcoming Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft in July and is considered a good bet to get selected in the middle rounds.
Shane Van Dam Is One Of Four Transfer Portal Additions
In addition to Van Dam and Banks, NC State baseball has also landed Wichita State everyday first baseman Garrett Pennington and Western Carolina starting second baseman Brandon Butterworth.
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Pennington, like Banks, is eligible for the MLB Draft. He hit .307 with 15 homers and 12 doubles in 225 at bats last season, driving in 55 runs and scoring 47 times for Wichita State. He hit a pair of grand slams during the year.
He was also 11 for 14 on stolen bases.
Prior to joining Wichita State and then announcing, like Van Dam, a transfer to NC State, Pennington was a Division II All-American at Central Missouri after he hit .397 with 11 homers and 23 doubles in 2022 for the Mules. The year before, he batted .354 with six homers and seven doubles for a Central Missouri squad that reached the Division II World Series championship game.
Butterworth had a .301 batting average with five homers, seven triples and 10 doubles among his 66 hits in 219 at-bats. He also drew 21 walks for a .370 on-base percentage and also stole seven bases.
As a freshman in 2022, Butterworth batted .296 with a .375 on-base percentage with six doubles among his 21 hits in 71 plate appearances, and he stole nine bases.
