Our guest speaker for this meeting will be Elliott Avent, Head Baseball Coach for NC State. Entering his 24th season as head baseball coach at NC State, Avent has molded the Wolfpack into one of the nation’s best and most consistent programs. Starting with his hiring in 1996, he has taken the Wolfpack to the NCAA Tournament in 18 of the last 23 seasons and 13 of the last 15.
He joined an elite group during the 2017 season, as he surpassed 1,000 career victories to become one of four active coaches in the ACC to reach the milestone. He currently ranks among the top 12 winningest active head coaches.
In 2019, NC State turned in a 42-19 record in 2019, which marked the second consecutive year and 10th time under Avent that a team has posted 40+ wins in a single season. The squad was undefeated through its first 19 games, securing its best start to a season in program history as it was one of the nation’s last two remaining unbeaten teams. Thanks to its hot start, the Pack was ranked No. 1 in a major poll for the first time in program history as it occupied the top spot in the Collegiate Baseball Rankings for three consecutive weeks.
Four players earned All-ACC and All-America honors, headlined by Will Wilson who was named NC State’s first-ever ACC Defensive Player of the Year and its first consensus All-American since 2012. Patrick Bailey, a Buster Posey Award semifinalist, and Wilson, a Brooks Wallace Award finalist, were additionally among the candidates for the Golden Spikes Award.
The Wolfpack had eight players selected in the 2019 MLB Draft, which was the second-most in program history in a single season. Wilson was selected as the No. 15 overall pick to the Los Angeles Angels, becoming the first Wolfpack player since 2014 to go in the first round. Additionally, Evan Edwards was selected in the fourth round as the No. 111 pick to the Miami Marlins, marking the first time since 2014 that NC State had two players taken in the first four rounds of the MLB Draft.
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Mark Your Calendar
2/19/20 – Elliott Avent, Head Baseball Coach, NC State. Meeting at Durham Nativity School, 1004 N Mangum Street
3/4/20 – Billy Lee, Former Men’s and Women’s Basketball Coach
3/18/20 -Dave Odom, College Basketball Guru. Meeting at Croasdaile Country Club