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2026 Season thread (Updated)
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Last: 2 mo ago by Glasswolf
A lot of options
Hearing from a players dad that the Fr Johnson is going to be hard to not play.
Agree he had a very good fall season
College sports has changed, but @NCStateBaseball and head coach @Elliott_Avent are staying true to their identity.
Avent: "We've always been a program that developed from the high school ranks and kept players here for three, four years."
@dsus_sus
https://technicianonline.com/154795/sports/year-30-how-elliott-avent-is-adapting-to-a-shifting-college-baseball-landscape/
Avent: "We've always been a program that developed from the high school ranks and kept players here for three, four years."
@dsus_sus
https://technicianonline.com/154795/sports/year-30-how-elliott-avent-is-adapting-to-a-shifting-college-baseball-landscape/
Now if Johnson does start Opening Day
LF Johnson1
CF TY14
RF B.Fraasman7
3B Sherman5
SS M.Ryan2
2B L.Nixon0
1B D.Bargo6
DH C.McHugh27
Catcher D.Lanphere15
LF Johnson1
CF TY14
RF B.Fraasman7
3B Sherman5
SS M.Ryan2
2B L.Nixon0
1B D.Bargo6
DH C.McHugh27
Catcher D.Lanphere15
JCooke93 said:
Now if Johnson does start Opening Day
LF Johnson1
CF TY14
RF B.Fraasman7
3B Sherman5
SS M.Ryan2
2B L.Nixon0
1B D.Bargo6
DH C.McHugh27
Catcher D.Lanphere15
This is what my money would be on.
To be more exact
I would say
Johnson
McHugh
Head
Fraasman
Bargo
Ryan
Nixon
Sherman
Lanphere
PGAWolf said:JCooke93 said:
Now if Johnson does start Opening Day
LF Johnson1
CF TY14
RF B.Fraasman7
3B Sherman5
SS M.Ryan2
2B L.Nixon0
1B D.Bargo6
DH C.McHugh27
Catcher D.Lanphere15
This is what my money would be on.
To be more exact
I would say
Johnson
McHugh
Head
Fraasman
Bargo
Ryan
Nixon
Sherman
Lanphere
that is basically what i had, with 1-2 switches in there. jcooke having Mchugh in the 8 hole is certainly interesting
That's my defense lineup not batting order opps
JCooke93 said:
That's my defense lineup not batting order opps
ohhh that is my bad then, i didn't even notice you were going by position. TBH R. Johnson, Head, and Fraasman could be the top 3 bats in our order and i dont think many would think that is wrong haha.
my fault!
I could see that too
Ryan Marohn is @NCStateBaseball's next ace. After posting 91 strikeouts and just 19 walks last season, he is prepared to lead the Pack in 2026.
Chrysler: "There's not a situation that he hasn't been through."
@noah_teague1
https://technicianonline.com/154803/sports/leader-of-the-pack-ryan-marohn-set-to-be-nc-states-next-star-pitcher/
Chrysler: "There's not a situation that he hasn't been through."
@noah_teague1
https://technicianonline.com/154803/sports/leader-of-the-pack-ryan-marohn-set-to-be-nc-states-next-star-pitcher/
Isn't it about time for a preseason podcast? I'm needing a fix before we get started on Feb 13th!
If I had one I would
pantherpack said:
Isn't it about time for a preseason podcast? I'm needing a fix before we get started on Feb 13th!
We at Tuffy Talk did one last night (it's a long one) with Ethan Berry from here at IPS & Cal Parker from Pack Homer. I'm biased but think it's pretty good. You can catch it now on YouTube and then in a day or so it should be available on all platforms. Looking forward to what James and The Boys put out here!
My Opening Day Batting order lineup
1 LF Rett1
2 CF TY14
3DH C.McHugh27
4RF B.Fraasman2
5 SS M.Ryan2
61B D.Bargo6
73B Sherman5
8 Catcher D.Lanphere15
9 2B L.Nixon0
1 LF Rett1
2 CF TY14
3DH C.McHugh27
4RF B.Fraasman2
5 SS M.Ryan2
61B D.Bargo6
73B Sherman5
8 Catcher D.Lanphere15
9 2B L.Nixon0
With Elliott Avent's 30th season on the horizon, @NCStateBaseball reloaded through the transfer portal.
Correspondent @OliviaZillmer breaks down five new faces to look for during the 2026 campaign.
https://technicianonline.com/154808/sports/tuning-in-on-transfers-four-new-faces-of-nc-state-baseball-in-2026/
Correspondent @OliviaZillmer breaks down five new faces to look for during the 2026 campaign.
https://technicianonline.com/154808/sports/tuning-in-on-transfers-four-new-faces-of-nc-state-baseball-in-2026/
2026 ACC Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll just dropped 🚨
— ACC Baseball (@ACCBaseball) January 29, 2026
🔗 more info: https://t.co/trolMP8fSZ pic.twitter.com/5CNTJE9KYN
PackFanInNova said:pantherpack said:
Isn't it about time for a preseason podcast? I'm needing a fix before we get started on Feb 13th!
We at Tuffy Talk did one last night (it's a long one) with Ethan Berry from here at IPS & Cal Parker from Pack Homer. I'm biased but think it's pretty good. You can catch it now on YouTube and then in a day or so it should be available on all platforms. Looking forward to what James and The Boys put out here!
Excellent. Thanks for letting me know. I'll check it out.
pack2010 said:Fitt projects Johnson in left, Fraasman in right, Ryan at short, Johnson at third, Lanphere catching and Bargo DH. Wiggins, Peifer, Novy left out https://t.co/prgaogTNuV
— Wolfpack Stats (@ncstatestats) January 22, 2026
D1 projects-
C- Lanphere
1st- McHugh
2nd- Nixon
SS- Ryan
3rd- S. Johnson
LF- R. Johnson
CF- Head
RF- Fraasman
DH- Bargo
Will be interesting how that shakes out, a lot of speed/contact and a lot of potential power being left on the bench.
No one should be surprised by Rett Johnson, he's a top recruit who is draft eligible next year, those guys basically always play as true freshman here. He is going to be fun as hell, similar to nixon but a better bat.
Yup but not surprised if see some C.McHugh27 and A.Wiggins13 in LF as well
PackFanInNova said:pantherpack said:
Isn't it about time for a preseason podcast? I'm needing a fix before we get started on Feb 13th!
We at Tuffy Talk did one last night (it's a long one) with Ethan Berry from here at IPS & Cal Parker from Pack Homer. I'm biased but think it's pretty good. You can catch it now on YouTube and then in a day or so it should be available on all platforms. Looking forward to what James and The Boys put out here!
Just listened to the podcast, very well done.
I will say I very much align with Ethan, I want Wiggins in the lineup and probably leading off, I don't care if he doesn't hit for power or not. You could go with him, Head and McHugh 1,2,3 with three guys that get on base at .400 a clip.
Pfifer is a wildcard, EA values defense at third, and I think he was also hurt last year which hurt his overall numbers. Probably won't happen but if a guy is the best overall defensive player at third he can probably play short at high level as well.
I get the Rett Johnson hype but I think id want more power in left and can sacrifice some defense there with just how much ground head covers. Maybe he just that much better though.
Bunch of different ways this can go and will be interesting to see who wins out where.
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I hope Wiggins is awesome, but Johnson seems to be the real deal. At the end of the day Wiggins was a .250 hitter with low power numbers for IU. Best guy is going to play and it's not surprising if it's Rett.
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Alex Gee said:
I hope Wiggins is awesome, but Johnson seems to be the real deal. At the end of the day Wiggins was a .250 hitter with low power numbers for IU. Best guy is going to play and it's not surprising if it's Rett.
If Johnson is that good I'd have no problem playing Wiggins over Fraasman either. That would be an easy decision for me. Regardless, I think it's a moot point. Fraasman and Johnson will play and have a lot of leash. There's been zero talk about Wiggins, I think he's behind the 8-ball to get in the lineup
Jtilley said:PackFanInNova said:pantherpack said:
Isn't it about time for a preseason podcast? I'm needing a fix before we get started on Feb 13th!
We at Tuffy Talk did one last night (it's a long one) with Ethan Berry from here at IPS & Cal Parker from Pack Homer. I'm biased but think it's pretty good. You can catch it now on YouTube and then in a day or so it should be available on all platforms. Looking forward to what James and The Boys put out here!
Just listened to the podcast, very well done.
I will say I very much align with Ethan, I want Wiggins in the lineup and probably leading off, I don't care if he doesn't hit for power or not. You could go with him, Head and McHugh 1,2,3 with three guys that get on base at .400 a clip.
Pfifer is a wildcard, EA values defense at third, and I think he was also hurt last year which hurt his overall numbers. Probably won't happen but if a guy is the best overall defensive player at third he can probably play short at high level as well.
I get the Rett Johnson hype but I think id want more power in left and can sacrifice some defense there with just how much ground head covers. Maybe he just that much better though.
Bunch of different ways this can go and will be interesting to see who wins out where.
Regarding Peifer at 3rd, if he is the guy, I am not worried about his bat. I have posted this before, but it adds context to his meh statistical season last year. That said, I definitely think Sherman Johnson has very solid upside too.
Peifer's 2025 statline doesn't jump off the page. He hit .241 with 10 doubles, six home runs and 32 RBI. But when looking closer at the third baseman, there's a reason why. Peifer underwent labrum surgery last summer, which led to a slow start to his junior campaign.
Although he struggled in the early parts of this past spring hitting .172 with three doubles, a homer, 10 RBI, eight walks and 28 strikeouts through the first 25 games Peifer was able to put it all together down the stretch. The veteran hit .339 with seven doubles, five home runs, 22 RBI, 10 walks and 17 strikeouts in JMU's final 30 games.
Alex Gee said:
I hope Wiggins is awesome, but Johnson seems to be the real deal. At the end of the day Wiggins was a .250 hitter with low power numbers for IU. Best guy is going to play and it's not surprising if it's Rett.
I hope he is the real deal and does seem like Wiggins is on outside looking in. Hard to leave a guy with a career.450 OBP on the bench though but the lineup also needs power from somewhere even if that is Fras striking out 40% of the time, his arm is also he's suited for right out of the group.
I'd be about shocked if Avent didn't go with the glove at third if everything else is close or Pfier just can't hit, but Heavner didn't either lol.
Agreed. Lots of options makes it intriguing. Curious to hear your lineup thoughts/predictions. Always respected your baseball takes and views
Appreciate that and same with you.
I just worry there's too many guys of the same profile with Nixon, Rett, Head, Sherman and Ryan if that's who you go with. There's MAYBE 30-40 home runs there between those guys. But hard to know what you have with Ryan and Sherman still.
Add in Lamphere, McHough if he doesn't get the ball in the air and Fraasman who isn't consistent and just feels like there is no power there.
Feels very small ball to me, which is fine but hopefully you pitch and defend at a high rate.
I'd probably be trying to move McHugh off first to get another bat there and see if Barge could play third or catch at all (Can't be worse than Sosa).
If you do go small ball id just go all in and put Wiggins in over Fraasman since he gets on base at such a high clip.
It's still preseason though and we just all spitballing here. Im also into the analytics more and Avent is not lol..
I just worry there's too many guys of the same profile with Nixon, Rett, Head, Sherman and Ryan if that's who you go with. There's MAYBE 30-40 home runs there between those guys. But hard to know what you have with Ryan and Sherman still.
Add in Lamphere, McHough if he doesn't get the ball in the air and Fraasman who isn't consistent and just feels like there is no power there.
Feels very small ball to me, which is fine but hopefully you pitch and defend at a high rate.
I'd probably be trying to move McHugh off first to get another bat there and see if Barge could play third or catch at all (Can't be worse than Sosa).
If you do go small ball id just go all in and put Wiggins in over Fraasman since he gets on base at such a high clip.
It's still preseason though and we just all spitballing here. Im also into the analytics more and Avent is not lol..
Hm
tbh that is what frustrated me as much as anything last year. it was pretty evident we didnt have the pop of 2024 but it seems like Avent failed to try to manufacture runs. Head with only 6 stolen base attempts is criminal. We should have had 2x the stolen bases as a team last year (we were last in stolen base attempts in the ACC last year).
Listening to Avent earlier this month, he did say the team is more athletic this year, so maybe he lets them run more. IMO Nixon, Head, Ryan, S. Johnson (if regular PT), R. Johnson should all have 15-20+ stolen base attempts. Then fraasman and mchugh should be in the atleast a little threat to take a base (7-10ish attempts).
As for the power, man it is tough to tell. We have 1 obvious guy in Bargo and then a guy with decent "proven" pop in Fraasman, and 2 guys that profile decently in Head and McHugh. Is that enough? Can they even get the ball in the air? I think Mikey Ryan is a 7-10 HR guy. Nixon, and S. Johnson 5-8 or so. Then any pop you get from R. Johnson and Lanphere is added. I ultimately trust Avent (and Hart) to push the right buttons but there are a lot of combos out there
Listening to Avent earlier this month, he did say the team is more athletic this year, so maybe he lets them run more. IMO Nixon, Head, Ryan, S. Johnson (if regular PT), R. Johnson should all have 15-20+ stolen base attempts. Then fraasman and mchugh should be in the atleast a little threat to take a base (7-10ish attempts).
As for the power, man it is tough to tell. We have 1 obvious guy in Bargo and then a guy with decent "proven" pop in Fraasman, and 2 guys that profile decently in Head and McHugh. Is that enough? Can they even get the ball in the air? I think Mikey Ryan is a 7-10 HR guy. Nixon, and S. Johnson 5-8 or so. Then any pop you get from R. Johnson and Lanphere is added. I ultimately trust Avent (and Hart) to push the right buttons but there are a lot of combos out there
JC are we practicing in the Football indoor facility?
Weather has to be killing the coaches??
Weather has to be killing the coaches??
11 days ‘til first pitch! Take a look at our ‘26 Custom AdiZero cleats. pic.twitter.com/jwPVNgUSwX
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Must have missed the memo about six more weeks of winter. pic.twitter.com/tUrHfrv58T
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