NC State sneaks into NCAA Tournament, to face UCF at Auburn Regional

After announcing his impending retirement this past Thursday, NC State baseball coach Elliott Avent’s tenure at the helm of his beloved program will continue for at least one more week. 

The Wolfpack appeared to be a true bubble team entering the selection show, but it didn’t have to anxiously wait. It will visit the Auburn Regional, opening with a matchup against UCF on Friday at 6 p.m. while host Auburn and Milwaukee round out the four-team field.

Not only did NC State land on the positive side of selection committee’s final bracket, it wasn’t even in the “last four teams in” group. While that may be the case, many around the program were likely sweating out the last few days after the 21-12 ACC Tournament loss to Duke at Truist Field in Charlotte on Wednesday afternoon.

After all, the Wolfpack lost three of its last four ACC series, while the conference tournament one-and-done result didn’t help boost its stock in its final performance for the selection committee to take in. It was able to survive that, however, by boasting the toughest regular season league schedule with quality DSR (37) and KPI (38) ratings to make its way into the field once again. 

Avent, in his 30th and final season at the helm of the program, has now led NC State to 24 NCAA regional appearances, including 10 in the last 11 iterations of the tournament. He’ll have at least one more weekend left in his three-decade tenure with the Wolfpack before giving way to associate head coach Chris Hart. 

But, until the team is knocked out, the Pack has its sights set on extending their skipper’s storied career for as long as possible in the summer heat.

This story will be updated.