NC State RHP Derrick Smith enters transfer portal
NC State junior right-handed reliever Derrick Smith, a key piece of the Wolfpack’s 2024 College World Series appearance, entered the transfer portal, TheWolfpacker.com and On3 have learned. He has one year of eligibility remaining.
Smith, a flame-throwing closer, only made six appearances this spring as he dealt with an undisclosed injury early in the season. He tossed a total of three innings, allowing two earned runs on three hits with six walks and eight strikeouts.
The White Bear Lake, Minn., native made his season debut on March 11 against North Carolina A&T, striking out the side in an inning of work, before doing the same thing a week later against Davidson.
“He knows he’s not back to who he was, but seeing him back out there, that was big,” NC State skipper Elliott Avent said after Smith’s first appearance this past spring. “Everybody loves D-Rock. He’s one of the guys who helped get us to Omaha last year. That was special.”
He ran into trouble in late March with 0.2 innings of one-run baseball against USC Upstate on March 25, which was followed by not recording an out with one run allowed and three walks at Duke on March 30.
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Smith made just two appearances the rest of the season. He recorded one out, which came via a strikeout, against UNCW on April 29, before allowed a hit and two walks without getting an out in the team’s 11-2 loss to Stetson to open the NCAA Tournament on May 30.
Smith helped anchor the Wolfpack’s shutdown bullpen with 41 strikeouts in 29.2 innings across 24 total appearances during the 2024 campaign. He allowed just three earned runs in his final 15 outings last spring, all of which came in Omaha.
In addition to Smith, NC State has had nine other players enter the portal since the season concluded. Left-handed pitchers Eli Pillsbury and Jacob Dienes, right-handed pitchers Aden Knowles and Jaxon Lucas, outfielders Jake Bechtel and Jet Gilliam, infielders Matt Heavner and Ryan Jaros, and catcher Drew Lanphere.
