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'It's like a second home to me': Why RHP Aiden Kitchings flipped his commitment to NC State baseball

image_6483441 (3)by: Noah Fleischman06/30/25fleischman_noah
Aiden Kitchings
(Photo courtesy of Aiden Kitchings)

Aiden Kitchings grew up roaming NC State’s athletics facilities. Whether it was Carter-Finley Stadium or Doak Field, he spent his formative years on the Wolfpack’s campus as his father, Des, was the team’s running backs coach. 

And like most young baseball players growing up in Raleigh, Kitchings attended NC State skipper Elliott Avent’s annual summer camps too. While he was able to envision himself playing for the Wolfpack as a child, now it’s a reality. 

The 6-foot-5, 240-pound right-handed pitcher, who decommitted from Missouri on Sunday, pledged to NC State on Monday afternoon. 

Kitchings’ initial recruitment wrapped early, ahead of his junior year, and he felt like Missouri wasn’t the best fit for him anymore. Once he opened his recruitment again, NC State pitching coach Clint Chrysler was quick to reach out, which led to the righty finding his new home within 24 hours after becoming available. 

“I love Raleigh,” Kitchings told TheWolfpacker.com. “I thought it would be a good fit for me to go [there]. … I’ve been up to that campus more than I can remember. It’s like a second home to me.”

Kitchings, whose father spent eight seasons on Dave Doeren’s staff and is currently Virginia’s offensive coordinator, was a highly-touted recruit out of Georgia’s Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School. Perfect Game rated him as an 8.5 out of 10, making him a high-end college recruit, which should translate well in NC State’s 2025 recruiting class. 

Kitchings was also one of the top 322 players at the MLB Draft Combine at the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Chase Field earlier this month, putting his talent on display for all 30 MLB teams. While he was there with an elite crop of prospects, including five Wolfpack players or signees, Kitchings was able to learn from the environment he was surrounded by. 

“The mental game of baseball, I didn’t realize how important it was before I talked with some of these guys,” Kitchings said. “In college baseball with the environment, just focusing on what you can control is going to help me.”

The No. 16-ranked right-handed pitcher in Georgia’s 2025 class, according to Prep Baseball Report, Kitchings is expected to report to NC State’s campus in August. The incoming freshman boasts a four-pitch mix — fastball, cutter, slurve and changeup — and he believes his ability to use each one as its own weapon is what describes himself as a pitcher. 

“Physicality, especially with my size on the mound, and the way my pitches move [sets me apart],” Kitchings said. “I just started throwing my cutter two months ago, so that off my fastball, they tunnel well. I think I can show my pitches well.”

Kitchings, who possesses a mid 90s fastball that tops out at 98 mph, is one of five freshmen pitchers that NC State has in the 2025 cycle. He joins the likes of right-handers CJ Gray (a possible MLB Draft candidate), Michael Ragusa and Sam Harris, in addition to lefty Luke Hemric, headed to Raleigh.

While the Wolfpack has a stable of quality arms that will be competing this fall for key roles on the pitching staff in the spring, Kitchings is eager to carve out a spot for himself. It doesn’t matter what inning or situation he might find himself pitching in, Kitchings just wants to help the Pack win next spring.

“I’m just going to put my head down and work as hard as I can to earn a spot in the spring,” Kitchings said. “I just want to have fun while I’m at it. I love the area.”

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