NC State's season, Elliott Avent's career, comes to end on pitch clock violation

As one of the at-large last teams into the 2026 NCAA Baseball Tournament field, NC State saw its season come to an end on Saturday. It comes after just two Regional games.

The Wolfpack fell to No. 4 national seed Auburn 17-13 in a high-scoring affair, ending both their season and the legendary career of head coach Elliott Avent. The game ended on a bit of a wonky note, however.

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With NC State‘s Christian Serrano facing a 3-2 count, Serrano was called for a pitch clock violation. That meant an automatic strike three, ending the season on a pitch that wasn’t even thrown. Avent was invisibly upset with the umpires in the immediate aftermath, but soon cooled his temper and congratulated Auburn head coach Butch Thompson on the win.

NC State's season ends on a pitch clock violation, as seen on ESPN. ⚾️😬pic.twitter.com/hhoiDq66qT

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 30, 2026

NC State announced Elliott Avent’s retirement prior to Tournament Selection Show

Prior to last week’s Selection Show, NC State announced that Avent would be retiring at the conclusion of the season. Avent, who turned 70-years-old on May 1, is the winningest head coach in program history. He had served at the helm since 1997, and led the Wolfpack to a 1,101-658 record in that span.

“Not many people get the chance to do what they love at a place that means so much to them,” Avent said in a statement. “I’ve been lucky enough to have that opportunity and I’ve loved every minute of it. I want to thank all the coaches and staff who committed so much to make this journey so rewarding and successful. To our many loyal fans, I would like to say what an honor and privilege it has been to stand in that first base dugout at Doak Field and listen to you cheer our players. They played their hearts out for you and NC State. 

“Most of all, I would like to say thank you to the players. Your character, effort, love and respect for our great game made coming to the ballpark my favorite part of every day. There’s no way I can express how much each and every player has meant to me. It’s hard to say goodbye to something that has been such a big part of my life, but I leave with a full heart and so much gratitude. This game is about teammates and memories. My memories will be a constant companion and our players, coaches, staff, and fans are teammates I’ll hold in my heart forever. So long from #9.”

NC State‘s 2026 campaign comes to an end, while Auburn improved to 2-0 in the Auburn Regional.