The College World Series is wrapping up this week. Powerhouse Vanderbilt and Cinderella Michigan are squaring off in a final showdown Wednesday night with the national title on the line.
NC State once had aspirations of being in Omaha and was briefly the top-ranked team in the country, but instead it finished the year with a disappointing showing in the Greenville Regional.
Here is a breakdown of how the Pack shapes up heading into the offseason, starting with the pitching. A preview of the hitting and fielding will come later Wednesday.
What's back
NC State only had two mainstays as starters this year, and one is back in right-hander Reid Johnston. The sophomore followed up a big freshman year by going 6-2 in 17 games, including 14 starts, and posted a 3.71 earned-run average in 77.2 innings in 2010. He surrendered 80 hits and allowed 27 walks while striking out 65. Johnston did a good job of keeping the ball in the park by giving up just four homers.
This came a year after Johnston went 7-1 in 21 games (10 starts) with a 3.06 ERA in 64.2 innings, allowing 54 hits and 15 walks while fanning 49.
There are a lot of intriguing arms coming back, perhaps led by the fast-developing sophomore lefty Nick Swiney. His 4.61 ERA may not be impressive, but that was the result of a slow start.
In his final 12 games, all out of the bullpen, Swiney threw 36.0 innings and surrendered a paltry 14 hits and eight runs (seven earned) for a 1.75 ERA. He also struck out 59 batters while walking 17. In the Greenville Regional of the NCAA Tournament, Swiney pitched both games and threw 6.1 innings of one-hit baseball, walking five and striking out 12.
Swiney showed the ability to throw into the low 90s on his fastball and yet that might be his second best pitch behind a devastating breaking ball. That allowed him to post 95 strikeouts in 56.2 innings for the season.
A combination of reliable and high-ceiling arms should also back. In his first season returning from elbow surgery, redshirt sophomore Dalton Feeney was sharp mainly out of the pen. He pitched in 23 games (three starts) and had seven saves, giving up 27 hits in 29.0 innings while walking 11 and striking out 23 and posting a 1.86 ERA.
Feeney has the raw stuff that could make him a MLB Draft prospect in a year.
Junior 6-foot-7 lefty Kent Klyman entered the year with a career 2.30 ERA in 51 appearances and 78.1 innings and had four saves as a sophomore. He was not as sharp earlier this year but seemed to regain his form down the stretch. In his final seven games he pitched 11.2 innings and gave up nine hits, walking four and striking out 16. His ERA in that time was 2.31, more in line with his previous years and dropping his season mark to 3.41.
Sophomore lefties Evan Justice and David Harrison should both return. Justice’s raw stuff belies his 4.66 ERA. He allowed only 31 hits in 36.2 innings and struck out 36 batters but will look to improve on his 17 walks. Justice was drafted in the 39th round of the MLB Draft by the Marlins.
Harrison ended the year as the “third starter” but they were in essence bullpen games. Still, Harrison had promising results, allowing 32 hits and walking seven in 33.2 innings and striking out 33. He posted a 2.67 ERA. In his last three games in ACC play, Harrison threw 7.0 innings and allowed one earned run on seven hits, walking two and striking out five.
Right-hander Cameron Cotter was a classmate of Harrison and Justice but redshirted. In his debut season, Cotter impressed in 22 appearances, including three starts. He had three saves and threw 39.0 innings, allowing only 32 hits and 10 walks while striking out 36 and posting a 3.00 ERA. Cotter closed out the dramatic ACC Tournament win over Wake Forest with a hitless ninth in which he struck out a batter.
Sophomore lefty Canaan Silver finished with eight starts on the year after he began the year in the weekend rotation. He pitched six effective innings of three-hit ball in an early season win over Minnesota and threw six scoreless innings while allowing only two hits at Boston College. He also gave up just two earned runs in 5.2 innings to eventual World Series participant Louisville.
Silver finished the year with a 3.83 ERA in 42.1 innings, allowing only 42 hits and 13 walks but striking out only 24.
Freshman righty Baker Nelson had a high ERA of 6.59, but his stuff is better than that, which is why he made 25 relief appearances. He had 23 strikeouts in 27.1 innings, and he had a couple of strong late-season appearances. He went two scoreless innings while allowing only one hit to Campbell and in a win at UNC threw 1.1 innings of no-hit relief while striking out three batters.
What's gone
The biggest loss is Jason Parker, who has signed professionally after being drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 16th round. Parker joined Johnston as the mainstay starters. All 16 of Parker’s appearances were starts, but he faded some down the stretch.
He started strong, giving up just 36 hits and posting a 1.98 earned run average in 41.0 innings during his first eight starts. He did not allow a home run in that time while walking 12 and striking out 36.
He was hit hard in adverse weather conditions against Louisville in start number nine and struggled to regain his form after that. In his final eight starts, Parker pitched 35.0 innings and gave up 42 hits, including seven homers, while walking 18 and fanning 34. His ERA in that time was 7.20.
Both junior right-handers Alec Barger and Michael Bienlien signed after being drafted despite tough results in 2019. Barger (17th round by the Braves) went 2-2 in 17 games, including six starts, and had a 6.14 ERA while Bienlien (24th round by the Tigers) went 3-1 in 19 games (two starts) and had a 6.23 ERA.
Junior Andrew Blake also signed following being drafted in the 21st round by the Angels. He was an effective reliever at times, posing a 4.79 ERA in 14 games, including a pair of starts.
All three of Barger, Bienlien and Blake had big arms, striking out a combined 88 batters over 71.2 innings, but they also allowed a total of 93 hits and walked 40 batters.
What's coming
NC State came out of the draft in very good shape, although it lost ace recruit Blake Walston, a first round draft choice of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Another recruit, junior college lefty reliever Andy Samuelson, also signed after being picked in the 12th round by the Braves.
But three highly regarded in-state pitchers did not get drafted. Prep Baseball Report rated Holly Springs High righty Matt Willadsen, High Point Ledford lefty Chris Villaman and Barco’s Currituck County High 6-foot-11 righty Austin Pace as the No. 2, 4 and 5 players in the state respectively (Walston was No. 1). The three all chose to come to NC State rather than pursue the MLB Draft.
Villaman went 5-0 with a 0.68 ERA this year, striking out 94 batters in 41 innings. Willadsen went 9-0 with a miniscule 0.35 ERA in 60.1 innings, allowing only 20 hits while walking 11 batters and striking out 102.
Pace gave up 18 hits and nine walks while fanning 48 in 32.0 innings and had a 1.53 ERA.
NC State also welcomes former Campbell freshman All-American Logan Bender to the staff. Bender had a sensational year at Catawba Valley Community College, going 7-0 in 10 games (seven starts) and allowing only 33 hits in 57.2 innings with 15 walks and 114 strikeouts. He had a 0.78 ERA.
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