Justin DeCriscio: "I Love It Here"

NC State shortstop Justin DeCriscio met with the media to discuss his time in Raleigh, the upcoming season, and much more.

NOTE: Click the video above to watch the interview with DeCriscio.

On transferring to NC State…

Yeah, it's been awesome so far. I love it here. Weather's a lot different than San Diego for sure, but the baseball program here is just awesome. I'm enjoying my time. 
 

How it happened…

So when I was on the portal, they called and they were in Omaha, so right off the bat, just a great team. They have a good rep and a good history. Talking to the coaches, I loved them. I came out here on a visit, and I just felt like this was the place for me, for sure. It's been everything that was talked about in recruiting. It's been the exact same once I got on campus, so it's been awesome. 
 

What's the rep like in the portal, guys, among the college baseball players? Obviously, NC State's taken a lot of players before. They had two big ones last year.

Yeah, I think NC State's just well-known. A lot of kids want to play in these big conferences now. They have that, and they have all the resources you need to develop not only yourself, but also playing at the highest competition, highest level. I want to go back to Omaha, not just go there. I want to win it. I knew this was the place where I'd have the opportunity to do that.
 

Prior to contact, how much did you know about NC State's baseball program? 

I knew about the baseball program. I've never really been out here, but the baseball program has a good rep. Even all the way out in California, people know watching games on TV. Wheels does YouTube videos, and we'd always watch that, so I knew about it. 
 

I don't know how much, but eight is a number that Trea Turner wore. That's generally a number they dished out to people they think are going to really do well. I don't know. Is that an honor? How do you handle that? 

I was just texting with Stocum, and he had some jersey options, different sizing and stuff. I thought eight was a good number. I didn't know about the history and stuff, so I'm proud to represent number eight. 
 

NC State does have a tradition of developing good shortstops. Trea Turner; one of the big names. How much of a factor was that in your decision to come to NC State? 

That was a big factor. They have just a track record of developing players. I knew that that was important. I want to get better, obviously, every day, and I know that they have the resources to do that.
 

Continuity mean anything? Guys like Elliott and Chris Hart, they've been here forever. Does that mean anything? 

It does mean a lot. In today's day and age, you see coaches coming in and out, bouncing around here. They've been here forever. It's a stable program, and they really just love what they do. They've been here, I don't even know how long, but a long time. That's something that I took into mind for sure. I know that they're here, and they love it. They've been here this long, so I want to join and be a part of it.
 

Individualistically, goals? Any goals for you? 

Not so many goals, just win. Do the best I can every day. Stay healthy, and we should be good.
 

How excited are you to be able to play in the ACC? You're going to be in one of the top leagues in the country. 

Yeah, it's really exciting. Big fan bases, fun games, rivalries, something on the West Coast you don't really get much of that. But it'll be new and different, and I'm excited. 
 

What's your time in Raleigh been like so far outside of baseball? You obviously have campus interaction with fans, things like that. What's that been like? 

It's been good, even things like this, media stuff. Going up to the preseason, it's all something that we're definitely appreciative of. But it's something that we kind of have to stay focused on, and stay focused on our goals and know that that's all kind of talk stuff. But there's a reason that those talks are happening.  If we keep doing our thing and keep going and the work that we put in, then people will keep talking about us, and that's the goal.

How would you describe yourself? 

I'd describe myself as just electric. I'll be out there making plays and just giving it my all, pretty much.