How Alec Makarewicz went from nearly not joining NC State to Regional Most Outstanding Player

The age of the transfer portal can create awkward situations. Players can transfer practically anywhere they want to, some just minutes down the road to a nearby program. 

For NC State coach Elliott Avent, that is something he has tried to avoid. He doesn’t want to take a player from North Carolina or Duke, the other two ACC schools within the Triangle, but that extends out to East Carolina just over an hour away in Greenville too. 

With that in mind, Avent nearly didn’t take third baseman Alec Makarewicz out of the portal. The slugger spent four seasons at ECU, where he earned All-American Conference honors anchoring the infield, and that left the Wolfpack’s coach with a feeling that he needed to find a different portal prospect to recruit. 

But Makarewicz filled the need that NC State had. It was in the market for a corner infielder and a right-handed hitter to add to the lineup. Makarewicz was both of those. 

So, Avent took a meeting with Makarewicz, but talked with ECU coach Cliff Godwin the day prior, almost seeking his approval of signing his third baseman. 

“Cliff, if I like the guy, I’m going to have to take him,” Avent told Godwin over the phone. “I hope you’ll understand.”

“I do and you’re going to like him because he’s a great kid,” Godwin said in return. 

With the blessing from a longtime friend in the industry, Avent did like Makarewicz and took his commitment to join the Wolfpack. Ever since that day, it has seemed like the Longwood, Fla., native has been the key that NC State needed. 

He has been the star hitter of NC State’s lineup, leading the Wolfpack to a Super Regional appearance after going 3-0 in the Raleigh Regional this weekend. Makarewicz went 6-for-14 with four doubles, a home run and five RBI to be named the regional’s Most Outstanding Player after wins over Bryant, South Carolina and James Madison. 

“It’s awesome,” Makarewicz said minutes after finding out he won the award. “I really didn’t have that in the back of my mind. I was just trying to enjoy the weekend, you never know when it’s our last home weekend. I was just soaking it all in and having fun.”

Makarewicz began the weekend with a 4-for-5 day that was highlighted by three doubles against Bryant — extending his hitting streak to 21 games. That was the longest streak of any NC State player this season, but it was snapped in the Pack’s win over South Carolina on Saturday. 

Though he went 0-for-5 against the Gamecocks, Makarewicz made solid contact. He sent four balls to the outfield, some nearing the warning track, South Carolina’s defenders were just there to make the play. That didn’t affect him when he turned around to hit a home run and a double to power the Wolfpack past James Madison, 5-3, in the Raleigh Regional final Sunday night at Doak Field.

“I just tried to tell myself I had some loud outs. It wasn’t anything wrong with my swing necessarily. I just wanted to come out here and give our guys a chance to win and not have to come back tomorrow.”

He gave the Wolfpack a chance to stave off an upstart mid-major squad, but that wasn’t confined to just that game. Makarewicz has been the bus driver for the Pack’s order all season. He leads the team in batting average (.379), home runs (20), RBI (76), slugging percentage (.736) and on-base percentage (.442) through the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. 

Not too bad for a player that the Wolfpack almost didn’t bring in through the transfer portal. 

“What he’s given us … that’s stupid numbers,” Avent said of Makarewicz. “But he’s given us so much more [than that]. Him and [Garrett] Pennington have given us so much more from maturity, discipline, professionalism. And that carries equal weight when you’re going through tough times.”

And the Wolfpack’s 28th-year head coach isn’t the only one that has noticed Makarewicz’s impact on both sides of the sport — on the field and in the locker room. 

Graduate right-handed pitcher Logan Whitaker, a key leader within the program, was amazed at how Makarewicz has handled his business this season. 

“He’s definitely smashed expectations, for sure,” Whitaker said. “And he’s much more than that. He came in and gelled with the guys immediately. It speaks to his high character and his high work ethic. From day one, he came in and we were all meshed and it just kind of clicked.”

As Makarwicz clicked with the lineup, the Wolfpack has been one of the hottest lineups in the country. He helped power NC State to the No. 10 national seed in the NCAA Tournament, setting up a Super Regional at No. 7 Georgia next weekend. 

But he didn’t expect to be in this situation. Now he is and Makarewicz seems to be enjoying the moment in each game he plays in.

“It was definitely more than I expected coming over here,” Makarewicz said. “The year that we’ve had is just incredible.”

NC State has put together an historic season on the diamond and Makarewicz has been a key reason why. But that almost didn’t happen if Avent didn’t take his commitment from the portal. He did and the Wolfpack is still playing deep into June.