2024 Baseball Roster
Highfill, Sam
Auburn Regional Preview: Elliott Avent on ACC PM
Thursday, May 29
Game Three Press Conference: Athens Super Regional
Tuesday, June 11
Game Two Press Conference: Athens Super Regional
Sunday, June 09
Game One Press Conference - Athens Super Regional
Saturday, June 08
Jersey Number 17
Sam Highfill
- Position:
- RHP/INF
- Height:
- 6-3
- Weight:
- 204
- Class:
- Graduate Student
- Hometown:
- Apex, N.C.
- B/T:
- R/R
- Major:
- Graduate: Business Analytics
- High School (Last School):
- Apex
Bio
2024 Third Team All-ACC
2024 - Graduate Season
2023 - Junior Season
2022 - Second-Year Sophomore Season
2021 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team
2021 All-ACC Academic Team
2021 - Second-Year Freshman Season
2020 - Freshman Season
High School / Prep Career
2024 - Graduate Season
- Started 17 games in his final season in a Wolfpack uniform
- Led all NC State pitchers with 87.0 innings pitched, 82 strikeouts and seven pitching victories
- Posted a 4.97 ERA with a 7-2 record, limiting opposing batters to a .226 batting average against him
- NC State went 14-3 in games he pitched, winning eight straight games from March 22 to May 16 in games he toed the rubber
- Tossed 5.0 innings or more in 10 of his 17 starts, pitching 6.0 innings or more on seven occasions
- Limited opponents to three earned runs or less in 12 of his 17 starts
- Recorded seven quality starts (six innings pitched or more with three or fewer earned runs allowed)
- Set new career-highs with eight innings pitched and 10 strikeouts in a shutout win over Notre Dame on March 28
- Delivered three consecutive quality starts in the NCAA Tournament, finishing the tournament with a 2.84 ERA, 13 strikeouts and a .209 batting average against him in 19.0 innings pitched
- Tossed seven innings while allowing just three runs with seven strikeouts in a College World Series start against Kentucky on June 15
- Posted a 3-1 record with 45 strikeouts and a .236 batting average against him in nine starts over 43.2 innings pitched in ACC play
- Finished his NC State career with 26 career pitching victories, a mark that ranks tied for fifth in program history
- With 17 starts in his final season, he finished with 45 career starts at NC State, a mark that ranks tied for fifth in program history
- Finishes with 258 career strikeouts, a mark that ranks 10th in program history
2023 - Junior Season
- Led all NC State pitchers with six pitching victories, finishing the season with a 6-4 record
- Ranked tied for third with 22 pitching appearances – 16 bullpen appearances and six starts
- Ranked fourth on the roster with 54.0 innings pitched and fifth on the team with 48 strikeouts
- Made his first 15 appearances out of the bullpen before notching six starts in his final seven appearances on the season
- Recorded eight scoreless bullpen outings and nine relief appearances without allowing an earned run
- Made his first start of the year against No. 12 East Carolina (April 25), tossing four scoreless frames while allowing just three hits with three strikeouts
- Pitched five innings while allowing just one run with four strikeouts to earn the win and help NC State record a series victory at Notre Dame (May 6)
- Delivered his longest outing of the season in the Wolfpack’s regular season finale against Pitt (May 20), tossing six innings while allowing just two hits and one earned run with five strikeouts
- Registered the first save of his career with a scoreless ninth inning against Florida State (April 15), striking out two batters without allowing a hit
- Made his first bullpen outing since his freshman season in the Wolfpack’s win at Coastal Carolina (Feb. 22), tossing 1.1 scoreless innings with two strikeouts
- Held a 3-2 record and limited opposing batters to a .231 batting average against him in 14 appearances in ACC play
- Finished the season with a 4.83 overall ERA
2022 - Second-Year Sophomore Season
- Made six starts on the mound and compiled a 5.53 ERA and 1-1 record before missing the remainder of the season due to injury
- Went a season-long 6.1 innings against Notre Dame, and tallied a season-high seven strikeouts on Feb. 25 vs. Quinnipiac
- Tallied 29 total strikeouts on the year in 27.2 innings pitched
2021 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team
2021 All-ACC Academic Team
2021 - Second-Year Freshman Season
- Had a sensational first full season with the Wolfpack, making a team-leading 16 starts in as many appearances on the mound
- Led the pitching staff with a 3.66 earned-run average and 9-2 record, and ranked second on the team with 84 strikeouts in 93.1 innings pitched
- In his last 10 starts on the season, the result was a win for the Wolfpack as he went at least five innings in nine of those outings
- Closed out the season with five consecutive wins, surrendering just six earned runs in 31.1 innings
- Pitched a gem in the ACC Tournament semifinal game on May 29 vs. Georgia Tech, tossing 6.1 innings and allowing just one run on four hits
- Went 5.1 shutout innings vs. Louisiana Tech on June 5 to put the Pack in the driver’s seat to win the NCAA Ruston Regional
- Went 6.1 innings at Arkansas on June 12 in the NCAA Super Regional for the win, helping the Pack even the series to eventually advance to the College World Series
- In the College World Series pitched a two-hit shutout in a career-long 7.1 innings and then went 3-for-4 at the plate in back-to-back games (June 21 and 25) against 2019 National Champion Vanderbilt
- Fanned a career-high nine batters on April 30 at Wake Forest in 5.0 innings of work
- Selected to the 2021 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team
- Earned All-ACC Academic Team honors
- Received the Key to the City of Apex from Mayor Jacques Gilbert for his efforts in the College World Series
2020 - Freshman Season
- Received a redshirt from the NCAA with the season’s suspension on March 12 and cancellation due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic
- Made six appearances in relief, the most among the freshman class
- Finished with a 3.21 ERA and 3-1 record in 14.0 innings pitched
- Was credited with wins in his first three appearances of the year
- Went a career-long 4.2 innings vs. Tennessee Tech where he fanned a career-high eight batters
- Allowed just four extra base hits in the 18 he yielded, and allowed five earned runs to cross
- Led all freshmen and finished fourth among the staff with 15 strikeouts on the season
High School / Prep Career
- Finished with a batting average of .340 over his last two years of high school, including a .360 clip as a senior
- Compiled an ERA of 1.43 during his senior year
- A first team all-conference honoree from 2017-19
- A member of the National Honor Society from 2017-19
- Was an honor roll selection all four years of high school
- Dad, Tyler (1988-94), mom, Paige (1988-92, 95-97) and grandfather, Joel Gibson (1960-61) all attended NC State
- Grandfather, Joel Gibson played baseball at UNCW and NC State, and pitched professionally for the Chicago White Sox and Philadelphia Phillies from 1962-64
- Brother, Ben, is a senior on the baseball team at Liberty