NC State baseball preview: Elliott Avent touts immense depth

By Noah Fleischman

There’s a lot of new things around NC State’s Doak Field this spring. The baseball facility — which is equipped with state-of-the-art batting cages and pitching lab among other much-needed additions for the program — is just about finished, while half the roster is made up of newcomers yet again. 

Although it’s become the norm in college athletics to have a high turnover rate with what the coaching staff has to deploy from year to year, especially in baseball with several players departing early for the MLB Draft, this season is a little different for NC State. 

Yes, it’ll have a new-look infield with several transfers slotting into key spots for the 2026 campaign, but at the same time, Elliott Avent has been pleasantly surprised with how well the group has gelled on and off the field through the preseason. 

“This is so much of an individual sport at times, but it’s unique to see how much these guys love to be at practice, love to be here at the facility,” Avent said in a recent exclusive interview with TheWolfpacker.com. “When they get done with class, they love to come back here. This is where they want to be: around their teammates. That’s an encouraging sign.”

With that in mind, let’s preview the Wolfpack’s position players and hitters in Part I of the NC State baseball preview. Part II, which will cover the pitching staff, will be released on TheWolfpacker.com on Thursday.

New faces litter the infield

NC State went to work in bolstering its infield via the transfer portal this past offseason. It brought in power-hitting Tennessee transfer Dalton Bargo, former blue-chip recruit Mikey Ryan from LSU, sure-handed James Madison defender Wyatt Peifer and one of the nation’s top junior college recruits in Sherman Johnson. 

Add that quartet to the returning trio of Chris McHugh, Luke Nixon and Brandon Novy, and Avent has what he called a “good problem” on his hands. He has seven players that he’s comfortable playing, but with just four available spots to slot them in on a given afternoon, some tough decisions will likely have to be made.

“That infield, obviously, is a whole different deal,” Avent said. “Obviously, defense is the equation with any good team. You have to have a good defense. If we’re going to win this year, we’re going to play good defense.”

Nixon has been a stalwart at second base, including 33 starts at the position as a freshman before making 56 straight starts there last spring, while McHugh anchored first base with 53 starts in his first campaign at NC State a year ago. The two returning starters provide a proven track record under Avent as Nixon hit .295, recording 10 extra-base hits and 34 RBI with a .968 fielding percentage, while McHugh posted a .365 average to go with 12 doubles, 7 homers, 48 RBI and a .995 fielding percentage last season. 

Although McHugh and Nixon are in good position to retain their starting spots, the rest of the infield will look drastically different. The Wolfpack has to replace the left side of the infield, and there is likely to be competition all over the unit as a result. 

NC State has worked Johnson, who starred at McLennan Community College with a trip to the JUCO World Series last season, at second, third and shortstop throughout camp. The JUCO World Series’ Most Outstanding Defensive Player is an athletic infielder that can make the toughest plays look routine, and add in his bat that accounted for a .319 average with 21 doubles, 3 triples, 9 homers and 51 RBI, and Johnson is a player that Avent called “unbelievable.”

But he isn’t the only transfer to stick out. Bargo, the headlining addition from the portal, is a player that the Wolfpack expects to use all over. His power bat racked up 14 doubles, 14 home runs and 40 RBI at Tennessee last season, between his defensive time at first, third, catcher and in left field. 

Although Bargo is one of the more versatile players on the roster, NC State expects to play him on the corners and possibly catch some, while also inserting him at designated hitter to allow for some of its other talented infielders to play in the lineup with him. He provides a luxury to Avent that he hasn’t had in some time, bringing an elite leadership trait with him as well, opening the door for a critical role on the roster in 2026.

“He’s like that Swiss Army knife. He has a chance to do many things,” Avent said of the former Volunteers standout. “But his experience and his maturity level, all those things matter, and he’s going to do a lot for us.”

Ryan, meanwhile, enters his Wolfpack tenure after limited action at LSU, where he logged 3 at-bats in 16 total appearances. He has impressed at shortstop in his time this preseason, leading to Avent calling the former No. 113 overall prospect in the 2024 recruiting class “really, really, really good.” 

Piefer, however, can’t be counted out from playing on the left side of the infield, either, especially after earning the 2024 Gold Glove at third base during his sophomore season at JMU. Add in Novy, a sophomore that flashed when given a chance a year ago, and Avent has his work cut out for him in finding the right combination to use each time out. 

While Avent isn’t sure of an exact mixture of infielders he will lean on consistently this spring, he’s focused on finding it as soon as possible. He equated it to what Will Wade did in finding a rotation to use on a nightly basis, rolling with his top eight, or what Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour does in hockey, two people he looks to draw from as a coach. 

And, though the opening day lineup will look different from what the team is using come tournament time in May, the faster Avent can find the correct group, the better the outcome, he believes. 

“The quicker you can figure it out, the more success you’re going to have,” Avent said. “But figuring it out [is key] because sometimes you don’t figure it out until March or April.”

What he does know, however, is that not everyone will be happy. That’s what happens in baseball, but the depth the Wolfpack has to work with is a strength for the team considering hitting slumps and injuries are inevitable.

“It’s a problem because you’re trying to give everybody what they want. Part of having a good locker room is, ‘Is everyone bought in? Is everybody happy? Does everybody feel like they’re getting what they’ve worked for and what they need?’” Avent said. “You know you can’t do that with a 35-man roster, usually 20 or 22 people get a majority of the playing time, so we know that’s the possibility. I think that’s where the maturity and the leadership qualities of the people you bring in is what takes care of that. It’s a good problem. There’s going to be injuries. It’s a hard game, people are going to go into ruts, and it gives you a lot of options.”

Returners provide outfield stability

His eyes seemed to light up when Ty Head’s name was mentioned. Avent, who’s entering his 30th season at the helm of the Wolfpack, couldn’t remember the last time he had a true freshman start every game. Between injury or just needing a break from the game, not many first-year players are equipped to do it, but that’s exactly what Head did a year ago. 

The Winter Garden, Fla., native was just one of two players to start every game at the same position a year ago as he patrolled center field each and every time the Pack hit the diamond. His all-out attitude, one that Avent has to reel in during practices, helped make Head one of NC State’s most-critical players a year ago, and now he’s back to build off it as a sophomore.

“He just plays the game so hard, and to play every game as a freshman, that tells you everything you need to know about Ty Head,” Avent said. “The players love him because they love his energy, they love his confidence and they love the way he wants to win and compete. That’s contagious. There’s so many things that Ty Head brings to this team.”

While Head, who hit .274 with 11 doubles, 4 homers and 33 RBI as a freshman, is back to anchor the outfield for the second straight spring, he’s surrounded by a wealth of talent. It’s not quite as deep of a pool to draw from as the infield, but NC State is eager to use the likes of senior Brayden Fraasman, junior Andrew Wiggins, junior Devin Mitchell and true freshman Rett Johnson in both corner outfield spots. 

Fraasman, the Wolfpack’s go-to right fielder a year ago, hit .279 with 12 doubles, 11 homers and 47 RBI in his first campaign in Raleigh. He’s likely to return to that same spot, while Johnson, a local prep recruit has impressed the coaching staff through the offseason and has a true case to break into the starting lineup right away. Wiggins, meanwhile, is an Indiana transfer with Day 2 MLB Draft upside, and Mitchell is a solid depth piece out of the junior college ranks — both players that can make an impact when their numbers are called.

Oh, and McHugh is likely to see some time in left field as well.

While Avent likes to base his outfield comparisons off the 2021 team, which boasted the likes of Devonte Brown, Tyler McDonough, Jonny Butler and Terrell Tatum, this year’s squad has the chance to be just as impressive, from his point of view. 

“This team has some similarities,” Avent said, touting the quality depth at his disposal. “I’m not saying we’re that good, we’re going to strive to be, that’s a bar I’d like to get to. … This is an outfield that has a chance to be very good.”

Early enrollee impressing already

If there was one wild card on the team this spring, it would be freshman shortstop Christian Serrano. Although he was a commit in the 2026 cycle, Serrano elected to begin his college career a year early with his enrollment for the spring semester. 

The younger brother of former NC State standout Eli Serrano, who was a 2024 fourth-round pick by the New York Mets, Christian is a player that his older sibling always told Avent was better than him. 

After all, he ranked as the No. 1 shortstop in North Carolina by Perfect Game out of Fuquay-Varina (N.C.) Pro5 Baseball Academy to become a Preseason Underclass All-American from 2023-25. While Avent was impressed by Serrano’s willingness to defer the MLB Draft until after his 21st birthday instead of seeing his options following his senior season of high school baseball, the youngster turned heads in his first few practices with the Wolfpack. 

“He’s a good hitter with a great swing,” Avent said of the younger Serrano. “He’s a good athlete, great hands, great feet. Seeing him in practice, he’s opened everybody’s eyes with how good defensively he is.”

Serrano hails from a baseball family, so his advanced skill level wasn’t a surprise, but his maturity level appeared to be something that did shock Avent upon his arrival on campus. 

“He’s not cocky,” Avent said. “He has a great deal of confidence, you can tell by the way he walks around, even though he doesn’t say much.”

Although the infield is loaded with talent, Serrano has what it takes to break into the lineup if he continues to develop within the Wolfpack program. He will be a player to keep a close eye on as the spring progresses.

Projecting the starting lineup

Note: This is by defensive position only, and not in a particular hitting lineup for 2026.

C: Drew Lanphere
1B: Chris McHugh
2B: Luke Nixon
3B: Sherman Johnson (McLennan CC)
SS: Mikey Ryan (LSU)
RF: Brayden Fraasman
CF: Ty Head
LF: Rett Johnson
DH: Dalton Bargo (Tennessee)