North Carolina State University Athletics
Friday, May 29
Auburn, Ala.
6 p.m.
NC State
vs
UCF
NC State Opens NCAA Tournament with UCF
5/28/2026 3:30:00 PM | Baseball
AUBURN, Ala. – For the 36th time in program history, NC State Baseball will play in an NCAA postseason regional, as the Wolfpack travel to Auburn, Ala., and Plainsman Park to take on UCF on Friday, May 29th, at 6 p.m. on ESPN2.
This will be the second consecutive year the Pack travels to the Plains as Auburn and Milwaukee round out the region. This will be the third regional appearance for the Wolfpack in Auburn all-time. Fans looking to follow and cheer on the Wolfpack to Auburn can purchase tickets HERE.
Last season, NC State went 2-2 in the Auburn Regional after beating Central Connecticut State and Stetson before falling to Auburn on Sunday. The winner of the Auburn Regional will match up with the winner of the Lincoln Regional.
NC State and UCF met for the first and only time in 1994 in Kissimmee, Fla., with the Knights winning 9-2. The Wolfpack holds a 1-3 record against Auburn, with all four previous meetings coming in the postseason. The first meeting with the Tigers came in the 1994 Stillwater regional, with the Pack seeing its only win in the series to date, 13-2. NC State and Milwaukee have never played each other before.
This will be the Wolfpack's 20th regional in the last 23 seasons and 10 in the last 11. Head coach Elliott Avent will be coaching his 23rd regional with the Wolfpack and holds a 51-46 record all-time in the NCAA tournament.
Avent currently ranks 21st among D1 coaches in career wins in NCAA history, with 1,327. He needs four to tie Larry Cochell and five to match Jack Leggett. Among coaches in this year's tournament, Avent has the second-most wins, only behind Arkansas's Dave Van Horn. Avent is the only coach in the tournament and just the 20th D1 coach to amass 1,100 wins at one school, a mark he reached earlier this year.
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: RHP Anderson Nance, 4-2, 3.78 ERA (NCSU) vs. RHP Camden Wicker, 5-3, 4.00 ERA (UCF)
Nance made his first start of the season and just his second career start in the regular season finale against UNC, where he went a career-best six innings, holding the Tar Heels to just one run on three hits. In 47.2 innings this season, Nance has struck out 56 with just 24 walks and has three saves to his name.
Coach Avent has said that Ryan Marohn could return in a relief capacity. Marohn has not pitched since April 10th. Marohn was one of the best pitchers in the country, with a 6-1 record, a 3.18 ERA, and opponents hitting just .204 against him. Maorhn is one strikeout shy of 200 for his career with the Wolfpack.
Last season at the Auburn regional, Marohn pitched against Central Connecticut State in an elimination game and threw eight scoreless innings, surrendering just five hits while striking out 10 and walking none.
NC State played the toughest ACC schedule, having faced seven of the current top eight teams in the conference. It did not play three of the bottom-four teams and four of the bottom-six teams. NC State finished with a .552 winning percentage, and among the four ACC teams with the toughest schedules, it was the only one to finish among the top 10.
The Wolfpack's offense will look to carry over its regular-season success into the tournament, as the Pack had both a top 25 team batting average (.307) and scoring offense (8.2). The offense was led by four All-ACC selections. Freshman outfielder Rett Johnson and junior infielder Luke Nixon were named to the All-ACC Second Team, while sophomore outfielder Ty Head and junior infielder Sherman Johnson earned All-ACC Third Team honors. Rett Johnson also earned a spot on the ACC All-Freshman Team.
Rett Johnson finished the regular season with the highest batting average for a freshman in the country. He entered the regional on a 28-game hitting streak and was hitting over .400 up until the final week of the regular season. Johnson was selected to participate in the USA Baseball Collegiate Training Camp this summer.
Home runs have helped the Wolfpack win games this season. The Wolfpack has hit 77 on the season. Chris McHugh hit his first ACC home run of the season in the win over UNC to give him a career best nine on the season. Nixon and Mikey Ryan have career bests, while Ty Head leads the team with 14. Hitting home runs has a direct correlation to winning games, as the Pack is 29-9 when hitting at least one compared to 3-13 when the Pack hits none.
The loss to Duke in the ACC tournament was the first of the season when the Pack scored 10+ runs, hit 2+ HR, and just the second loss of the season when leading after the sixth inning.
Ty Head was the only ACC player with 10+ homers and 20+ stolen bases, using his speed on the basepaths and his patience at the plate to make a difference. Head has 56 walks on the season and moved alone into second place for most walks on a single season. He is eight walks away from matching Pratt Maynard's 2010 record. In just two seasons, Head has drawn 110 walks and struck out just 49 times. With 98 stolen bases as a team, it is the most by a Wolfpack team since 2013, which set the program record with 110 in a season. Head leads the team with 26 and is four away from matching Trea Turner for the second most in a season with 30.
In 2026, three players have appeared in every game for NC State. Ty Head, Luke Nixon, and Chris McHugh.
Head is the only player to start every game at the same position. Nixon made a start at shortstop at Virginia Tech following an injury to Mikey Ryan, who had appeared in every game at shortstop before his injury in the finale against Virginia Tech.
FRIDAY, MAY 29
#1 Auburn vs. #4 Milwaukee – Noon p.m. CT (ESPN+)
#2 UCF vs. #3 NC State – 5 p.m. CT (ESPNU)
SATURDAY, MAY 30
Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 – 2 p.m. CT (TBA)
Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 – 7 p.m. CT (TBA)
SUNDAY, MAY 31
Loser Game 4 vs. Winner Game 3 – 2 p.m. CT (TBA)
Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5 – 7 p.m. CT (TBA)
MONDAY, JUNE 1
If Necessary, Game – TBA
This will be the second consecutive year the Pack travels to the Plains as Auburn and Milwaukee round out the region. This will be the third regional appearance for the Wolfpack in Auburn all-time. Fans looking to follow and cheer on the Wolfpack to Auburn can purchase tickets HERE.
Last season, NC State went 2-2 in the Auburn Regional after beating Central Connecticut State and Stetson before falling to Auburn on Sunday. The winner of the Auburn Regional will match up with the winner of the Lincoln Regional.
NC State and UCF met for the first and only time in 1994 in Kissimmee, Fla., with the Knights winning 9-2. The Wolfpack holds a 1-3 record against Auburn, with all four previous meetings coming in the postseason. The first meeting with the Tigers came in the 1994 Stillwater regional, with the Pack seeing its only win in the series to date, 13-2. NC State and Milwaukee have never played each other before.
This will be the Wolfpack's 20th regional in the last 23 seasons and 10 in the last 11. Head coach Elliott Avent will be coaching his 23rd regional with the Wolfpack and holds a 51-46 record all-time in the NCAA tournament.
Avent currently ranks 21st among D1 coaches in career wins in NCAA history, with 1,327. He needs four to tie Larry Cochell and five to match Jack Leggett. Among coaches in this year's tournament, Avent has the second-most wins, only behind Arkansas's Dave Van Horn. Avent is the only coach in the tournament and just the 20th D1 coach to amass 1,100 wins at one school, a mark he reached earlier this year.
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: RHP Anderson Nance, 4-2, 3.78 ERA (NCSU) vs. RHP Camden Wicker, 5-3, 4.00 ERA (UCF)
Nance made his first start of the season and just his second career start in the regular season finale against UNC, where he went a career-best six innings, holding the Tar Heels to just one run on three hits. In 47.2 innings this season, Nance has struck out 56 with just 24 walks and has three saves to his name.
Coach Avent has said that Ryan Marohn could return in a relief capacity. Marohn has not pitched since April 10th. Marohn was one of the best pitchers in the country, with a 6-1 record, a 3.18 ERA, and opponents hitting just .204 against him. Maorhn is one strikeout shy of 200 for his career with the Wolfpack.
Last season at the Auburn regional, Marohn pitched against Central Connecticut State in an elimination game and threw eight scoreless innings, surrendering just five hits while striking out 10 and walking none.
NC State played the toughest ACC schedule, having faced seven of the current top eight teams in the conference. It did not play three of the bottom-four teams and four of the bottom-six teams. NC State finished with a .552 winning percentage, and among the four ACC teams with the toughest schedules, it was the only one to finish among the top 10.
The Wolfpack's offense will look to carry over its regular-season success into the tournament, as the Pack had both a top 25 team batting average (.307) and scoring offense (8.2). The offense was led by four All-ACC selections. Freshman outfielder Rett Johnson and junior infielder Luke Nixon were named to the All-ACC Second Team, while sophomore outfielder Ty Head and junior infielder Sherman Johnson earned All-ACC Third Team honors. Rett Johnson also earned a spot on the ACC All-Freshman Team.
Rett Johnson finished the regular season with the highest batting average for a freshman in the country. He entered the regional on a 28-game hitting streak and was hitting over .400 up until the final week of the regular season. Johnson was selected to participate in the USA Baseball Collegiate Training Camp this summer.
Home runs have helped the Wolfpack win games this season. The Wolfpack has hit 77 on the season. Chris McHugh hit his first ACC home run of the season in the win over UNC to give him a career best nine on the season. Nixon and Mikey Ryan have career bests, while Ty Head leads the team with 14. Hitting home runs has a direct correlation to winning games, as the Pack is 29-9 when hitting at least one compared to 3-13 when the Pack hits none.
The loss to Duke in the ACC tournament was the first of the season when the Pack scored 10+ runs, hit 2+ HR, and just the second loss of the season when leading after the sixth inning.
Ty Head was the only ACC player with 10+ homers and 20+ stolen bases, using his speed on the basepaths and his patience at the plate to make a difference. Head has 56 walks on the season and moved alone into second place for most walks on a single season. He is eight walks away from matching Pratt Maynard's 2010 record. In just two seasons, Head has drawn 110 walks and struck out just 49 times. With 98 stolen bases as a team, it is the most by a Wolfpack team since 2013, which set the program record with 110 in a season. Head leads the team with 26 and is four away from matching Trea Turner for the second most in a season with 30.
In 2026, three players have appeared in every game for NC State. Ty Head, Luke Nixon, and Chris McHugh.
Head is the only player to start every game at the same position. Nixon made a start at shortstop at Virginia Tech following an injury to Mikey Ryan, who had appeared in every game at shortstop before his injury in the finale against Virginia Tech.
FRIDAY, MAY 29
#1 Auburn vs. #4 Milwaukee – Noon p.m. CT (ESPN+)
#2 UCF vs. #3 NC State – 5 p.m. CT (ESPNU)
SATURDAY, MAY 30
Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 – 2 p.m. CT (TBA)
Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 – 7 p.m. CT (TBA)
SUNDAY, MAY 31
Loser Game 4 vs. Winner Game 3 – 2 p.m. CT (TBA)
Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5 – 7 p.m. CT (TBA)
MONDAY, JUNE 1
If Necessary, Game – TBA
Players Mentioned
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/ BaseballACC PM: Elliott Avent Previews the Auburn Regional
Monday, May 25
Pack Turns to Hart to Lead Baseball
Friday, May 22
A Look Back at the Career of Elliott Avent
Friday, May 22
Legendary NC State Head Coach Elliott Avent Announces His Retirement
Thursday, May 21