MCLAMB: Josh Hogue's Return Has Been Huge For The Wolfpack

When Josh Hogue collided with his teammate, he immediately knew something was wrong. This was different.

Hogue saw the mortified expressions on the faces of his teammates. That led him to look for himself.

“I knew it was pretty bad right off the bat, and then I was looking at everyone else's expressions, Hogue said. “I looked for myself. I looked down and I saw it was broken. I almost blacked out, but I was feeling all of that adrenaline. I just knew something was wrong when it happened. All the adrenaline is going through your body. I feel like it suppresses the pain.”

For Hogue, there was no blueprint at that moment, only an endgame.

“I knew it was going to happen,“ Hogue said. “I knew I was going to be back out on the field. I feel like it is a pretty rare injury, especially for baseball, but I just knew I was coming back.”

GETTING TO THE PACK

Hogue was like many other aspiring college athletes. When he did not get the offers he wanted out of high school, he chose to try his hand at a junior college in hopes of climbing the ladder.

At Santa Fe College, Hogue led the team in several offensive categories en route to earning multiple national honors, including being named All Mid-Florida Conference First Team and All-FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 First Team.

“Out of high school, I was a little undersized, weight-wise, then I went to JUCO and had a great year,” Hogue said. “I would say after my freshman year, I knew I wanted to go to a four-year school, and that is when schools started to reach out to me. After my freshman year, I thought I could take this somewhere. I think that's where the confidence grew, and reality sunk in where this could be something I could do for my life.”

Fortunately for NC State, it was the Wolfpack that was first in line.

(NC State was) the first to reach out to me,” Hogue said. “I actually remember it clear as day. I was in the pool with my friends, and my dad texted me. He said, ‘Be ready. You might get a phone call from NC State.’ (Associate head coach) Chris Hart called me, and I was just happy. That was my first ever big Power-5 phone call.

“I spoke with Chris. We set up an official visit. I had other schools talk to me and offer me, but I knew I just wanted to take a visit here. Since they were the first ones to contact me, I wanted to honor that. I came up here with my parents and my little brother. They just took me around the school, out to dinner, and told me everything about the school, what it is like, and the history that has gone through here.”

The history lesson that NC State associate head coach Hart and others provided for Hogue helped connect the dots on what he has already seen from the program in the previous seasons before his arrival.

“I knew (NC State was) always a good hitting team and they had a long history of competing at a high level, so I wanted to be a part of that,” Hogue said.

OVERCOMING INJURY

As Hogue lay in the hospital bed sorting things out, it was not long before he had guests.

NC State head coach Elliott Avent promptly visited Hogue that evening and, along with Hart, would be around often to offer sage advice and genuine comfort during the hardest of times.

“In my 40-something years in baseball, what Josh went through was the worst injury I have ever seen,” Avent said.

Avent would be there to remind Hogue of his value to the program and that there were bigger things in life than baseball, while Hart, who also suffered a broken leg during his college career, gave him a blueprint on the path to take for successful rehabilitation and a return to the diamond.

(Avent) is a very personable guy,” Hogue said. Sometimes it is tough love, but he wants the best for you, and he makes those personal relationships. Going through my injury last year, he was always there for me, especially going through that process.

“That is a low point in my life, going through that injury, but Avent came to the hospital every day to visit me and check up on me. Every day. I was in there for three days, I think, but he came, even when I was in the hotel room with my mom after surgery, he came, and the support I got from them, knowing that they had the confidence in me to come back was awesome. It shows that he really cares.”

THE 2025 SEASON

Hogue enters the final weekend of the regular season batting .306 with 10 homers and 41 runs batted in, with many of his biggest hits coming at clutch moments for NC State. Hogue hit a walk-off home run to clinch a series win over Virginia and smacked a grand slam against Campbell earlier in the campaign.

A sports management major at NC State, Hogue’s goal beyond playing baseball is to work in the sport he loves.

In the meantime, the Wolfpack enter the final weekend fighting for a potential ACC regular season title (and/or top-4 spot in the conference to earn a double-bye in the upcoming ACC Championships).

Last season, Hogue’s jersey hung in the dugout as a sign of remembrance when NC State participated in Omaha at the College World Series. The Wolfpack has a legitimate chance of returning, but the path to get there is not too unlike the journey to return from serious injury.

“Baseball is a long season,” Hogue said. “You've got to take it day-by-day, show up each day, and put the work in. If you come out and play and show that confidence. That is how you do your best.”