What catcher Drew Lanphere’s expected return means for NC State baseball

When NC State catcher Alex Sosa entered the transfer portal last week, it caused a stir around the Wolfpack’s roster construction. His departure left the Pack with a pair of catchers that had yet to play a single college inning with redshirt freshman Preston Bonn and incoming freshman Vincent DeCarlo.  It seemed like NC State was going to need to find a starting-caliber catcher in the portal to replace Sosa, who committed to play at Miami. But that didn’t last for long as Wolfpack skipper Elliott Avent was able to re-recruit one of his own: rising redshirt junior catcher Drew Lanphere.  Lanphere entered the transfer portal earlier this month in search of a bigger role somewhere else. Sosa’s departure, however, opened up the Wolfpack's everyday catcher role. Now, Lanphere is expected to remove his name from the transfer portal to return to Raleigh for his third campaign with the Pack.  Here’s what Lanphere’s return means for NC State moving forward.