Fall ball update: NC State RHP Jacob Dudan is positioning himself to enter weekend rotation

Jacob Dudan found himself in a rut. Nearly everything he did on the mound didn’t lead to positive results as mid-major teams were able to hit his usually flame-throwing fastball and his devastating slider through his first four appearances of the 2025 campaign. 

It led to a low point of his standout collegiate career. He was a critical part of NC State’s bullpen that propelled the team to the 2024 College World Series as he made hitters’ lives miserable in the box. But, for the first time with the Pack, Dudan was human. 

The right-handed reliever’s start to his sophomore year was not what he expected as he entered the season with plenty of hype. He allowed 10 runs (six earned) on six hits with seven walks, three doubles given up and a pair of homers allowed in just 2.2 innings across that quartet of appearances. It led to two blown saves against Liberty and Canisius, neither of which were Omaha-caliber teams, and he felt it both mentally and physically. 

In a way, Dudan felt lost on the mound. And it followed him off the rubber, too. Dudan went from being the energetic jokester of batting practice, running all over the outfield to shag balls, to being all alone as he toiled in his struggles. 

But an early-March conversation with NC State pitching coach Clint Chrysler seemed to help get Dudan in the right direction. He gave the Wolfpack’s star reliever a simple, yet effective message: Keep going, it will eventually come back around.

“That’s when my confidence built up more knowing that they’re going to keep putting me out there,” Dudan recalled after a fall practice Tuesday afternoon at Doak Field. “When I started to succeed more, that’s what I thought about.”

That mindset, coupled with the approach of leaving his performance — good or bad — at the field and not taking it home with him to stew in his head at his Raleigh apartment, seemed to work. 

Dudan allowed just one run over his next 12 outings, tossing 17.2 innings with just six hits allowed with six walks, 30 strikeouts and only two doubles. The old “Dude” was back, and it paid dividends for NC State, including his three-strikeout one-inning save over then-No. 2 Clemson on April 26.

Although he came back to Earth to finish the season with a 3.90 ERA over 30 innings, allowing 13 earned runs on 27 total hits with 41 strikeouts to 17 walks, Dudan’s response to his first significant adversity of his collegiate career was telling.

Now, after spending the summer between the Cape Cod League and Team USA’s Collegiate National Team, Dudan has his sights set on an expanded role with the Wolfpack. He wants to compete to enter the team’s weekend rotation after left-hander Dominic Fritton’s spot opened up as he was a fourth-round selection by the Tampa Bay Rays.

“It’s a big goal of mine,” Dudan said with a grin. “I was hoping to do it last year, but I didn’t perform the way I wanted to. The three guys that started the whole year were really good. It’s been one of my goals, so I’m excited to hopefully get there this year.”

While Dudan didn’t get the chance to make his rotation debut last spring, he did make one start: a three-inning shutout appearance with six strikeouts in an 11-1 win over Campbell. Although that wasn’t the same as being in line as a regular in the rotation, he was able to get a taste of consistent starts during his time with the Brewster Whitecaps this summer. Dudan made a trio of starts as he allowed just two runs on 10 hits with 11 strikeouts and four walks in 11 innings of work in the Cape.

The biggest learning lesson for Dudan was the routine he needed to get into as a starter during his time with Brewster. He was used to having to be ready to pitch every game with just minutes to warmup, but in the role he covets, he can take his time preparing — both physically and mentally — ahead of each start. 

Other than that, Dudan has the same mindset. He wants to mow down opposing batters as efficiently as possible to remain on the rubber. And as Dudan prepares to battle for a starting spot, he has worked on adding a pair of pitches to his arsenal: a sinker and changeup. 

After all, as a starter, Dudan wouldn’t likely be able to rely on his 1-2 punch of a four-seam fastball and deadly slider, so he made it a point of emphasis to evolve as a pitcher. While he worked on getting his changeup to play off his sinker on the mound, Dudan tabled the slider for part of the fall to make sure all his focus was on the new weapons. But now, he’s working on deploying all four to be able to mix all four effectively. 

So far, it seems like the new version of Dudan has looked good on the mound in fall practices — just ask freshman outfielder Everett Johnson. 

“He’s got a mound presence that I’ve never seen,” Johnson said point blank. “And his fastball is intimidating.”

As Dudan prepares to find a way into a starting spot, Wolfpack skipper Elliott Avent is open to allowing his top backend arm to compete to join the rotation going into the spring.

“I’m just excited for Jacob Dudan when he gets the ball, anytime he gets it no matter how he gets it,” Avent said. “He did want to be a starter, it’s one of the things we talked about. … Jacob wanted an opportunity to start, and we’re going to give him that opportunity.”

Dudan feels like he’s ready for the challenge of moving into the expanded role within NC State’s pitching staff. The bullpen role that he carved out through his first two seasons of college baseball was key to impact the team right away, and it’s still going to be there, if needed.

But now Dudan is ready to continue his career trajectory as a starter after bouncing back from his turbulent start last spring.

“It’s definitely a progression that I was looking for,” Dudan said. “Last year, I didn’t get the opportunity to do it, but I’m looking forward to this year and getting that starting role.”