CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Four NC State baseball players earned All-ACC honors, as announced by the Atlantic Coast Conference on Monday afternoon. Freshman relief pitcher Jacob Dudan was also named to the ACC All-Freshman Team.
Junior catcher Jacob Cozart, graduate third baseman Alec Makarewicz, graduate pitcher Sam Highfill and graduate third baseman Garrett Pennington all earned All-ACC honors. Cozart notched his second all-conference honor in as many years and his first First Team All-ACC recognition.
Makarewicz (Second Team), Highfill (Third Team) and Pennington (Third Team) round out the Wolfpack's group of four All-ACC honorees. Highfill earns his first All-ACC honor in his final collegiate season, while Makarewicz earned his second all-conference honor after being named to the All-AAC Second Team at ECU in 2022.
Jacob Cozart | Jr. | C | First Team All-ACC
Jacob Cozart earned First Team All-ACC honors after ranking second on the Wolfpack roster with 16 homers and 55 runs scored. Cozart finished the 2024 regular season with a .290 batting average, 16 home runs, 45 RBI, 55 runs scored, 15 multi-hit games and 12 multi-RBI games. Cozart also paced the Wolfpack with 41 walks, sporting a .420 on-base percentage.
Behind the plate, Cozart ranked first among all ACC catchers with 13 runners caught stealing. Cozart threw out 13 of 39 runners attempting to steal this season and sported a .993 fielding percentage, recording 367 putouts and 34 assists.
Cozart's 41 walks ranked tied for 11th in the ACC. He also ranked 16th in the ACC in homers per game (0.31) and 20th in the league in runs scored per game (1.08).
In April, Cozart was named to the Golden Spikes Midseason Watch List. He was one of just 45 student-athletes named to the list.
Alec Makarewicz | Gr. | 3B | Second Team All-ACC
Alec Makarewicz earned Second Team All-ACC honors after leading the Wolfpack with a .362 batting average, .718 slugging percentage, 77 hits, 67 RBI, 19 homers and 153 total bases. Makarewicz, the active career leader in games played in college baseball, also led NC State with 25 multi-hit games and enters the postseason with a team-high 18-game hitting streak.
Makarewicz ranked tied for third among all ACC players with 19 doubles, fourth with 67 RBI, fourth with 153 total bases, fifth with a .718 slugging percentage and fifth with 77 hits. The switch hitter has also homered from both sides of the plate twice this season and leads the Pack with three games with five RBI or more.
The third baseman earned ACC Player of the Week honors on March 4 after helping lead the Wolfpack to a 5-0 week, batting .455 with a team-high 10 hits, four doubles, 13 RBI, 20 total bases and six extra-base hits. He was also named a Dick Howser Trophy Semifinalist on Thursday.
Sam Highfill | Gr. | SP | Third Team All-ACC
Sam Highfill earned Third Team All-ACC honors after leading NC State with 63.2 innings pitched, 65 strikeouts and five pitching victories. Highfill limited opposing batters to a .226 batting average and started all 13 games he appeared in during his final collegiate season.
NC State is 12-1 in games Highfill has pitched in, winning contests against No. 2 Clemson, No. 11 North Carolina, No. 7 Florida State, No. 10 Virginia and No. 8 Wake Forest with Highfill on the mound. He has tossed five innings or more in seven of his 13 starts this season.
Highfill's .226 batting average against ranked fifth among all qualified ACC pitchers. He also ranks fourth in the league with 7.35 hits allowed per game.
Garrett Pennington | Gr. | 1B | Third Team All-ACC
Garrett Pennington earned Third Team All-ACC honors after leading NC State with 57 runs scored and 20 doubles while ranking second on the roster with 135 total bases, 57 RBI and 73 hits.
Pennington's 20 doubles ranked second among all ACC players, while his 57 RBI ranked tied for 11th in the league. Pennington's .347 batting average and .702 slugging percentage against league opponents both ranked eighth, respectively. He also ranked tied for third in the conference with 38 RBI and 87 total bases against ACC opponents.
Pennington was recently named the ACC Player of the Week on May 13. Pennington batted .647 with a team-high 11 hits, 11 runs scored, 10 RBI, three home runs and 22 total bases as the Wolfpack secured a road series win at No. 10 Virginia.
Jacob Dudan | Fr. | RP | ACC All-Freshman Team
Jacob Dudan earned ACC All-Freshman Team honors after leading the Wolfpack with 22 pitching appearances and ranking tied for first with five saves. Dudan's 37.2 innings pitched also rank first among Wolfpack relievers.
Dudan sports a 3-2 record with a 4.30 ERA and 39 strikeouts entering postseason play. Dudan has limited opposing batters to a .227 batting average against him. His five saves rank tied for ninth among all ACC pitchers. He also ranks tied for ninth in the ACC with three of his five saves coming against league opponents.
Dudan's three saves in ACC play have come in key top-15 matchups for the Wolfpack. He earned saves against No. 9 Duke, No. 11 North Carolina and No. 10 Virginia.
WilsonWolf said:
Who got 1st team at 3rd base? Better not have been Seaver King. A-Mak's stats are miles better.
BMacPack said:
More snubs than just A-Mak too.
Use every bit of bulletin board material that you can get!
