Wolfpack Baseball Begins 2026 Season at the Puerto Rico Baseball Challenge

Friday, February 13

Ponce, Puerto Rico

2:30 p.m.

NC State

Washington

Wolfpack Baseball Begins 2026 Season at the Puerto Rico Baseball Challenge

2/12/2026 1:00:00 PM | Baseball

Puerto Rico Challenge Game Notes

PONCE, Puerto Rico – NC State baseball will open the 2026 season with a three-game set in Puerto Rico as the Pack takes part in the Puerto Rico Baseball Challenge beginning on Friday, Feb. 13^th-15^th.

The Pack will take on Washington in the season opener, then face Indiana State in the second game on Saturday and finish the weekend against Seton Hall on Sunday. All three games are available on Victory+, which is free to download and stream. The first two games will be played in Ponce, and the third will be held in Caguas.

When the first pitch is thrown, it will mark head coach Elliott Avent's 30^th season at the helm of the Wolfpack and 38^th overall as a head coach. With 1,295 career victories and 1,071 at NC State, Avent enters 2026 ninth among the winningest active head coaches across all levels sponsoring intercollegiate baseball. He needs one more win to tie Jim Morris for the fourth-most wins as an ACC member.

Under Avent, the Wolfpack is 22-7 on opening day. NC State has not dropped a season opener since 2016 against Old Dominion. The Pack is currently on a nine-game opening-day winning streak, the longest in program history under head coach Elliott Avent.

The Matchups
Washington: This will be the very first meeting between the two programs.

Indianan State: This will be the third time in program history that the Wolfpack and the Sycamores have met one another. The last two meetings were held in Raleigh in March of 2016. NC State took the first game 8-3 before Indiana State took the second 11-7.

Seton Hall: NC State leads the overall series with the Pirates 2-1. The three previous meetings came in February of 2018 in Raleigh. The Wolfpack took the first two games by a combined score of 11-5 before falling in the finale.

The Wolfpack is coming off its 35th regional appearance, playing in the Auburn Regional. It was the first time in program history that the Wolfpack returned to the postseason after a year in which they made the trip to Omaha (2024).

Under head coach Elliott Avent, the Wolfpack has reached the NCAA Regionals in 19 of the past 22 tournaments since 2003. Avent has now led his Wolfpack squads to 22 NCAA Regional appearances during his coaching career in Raleigh.

NC State baseball was ranked No. 17 in D1Baseball's 2026 Preseason Top 25 poll, as announced by the publication. Perfect Game tabbed the Wolfpack No. 22.

NC State's spring roster is comprised of 35 student-athletes, featuring 18 newcomers and 17 returners. Earlier this month.

A few Juco transfers for Pack fans to keep an eye on include Dalton Bargo and Andrew Wiggins, who were both ranked as the top 50 impact transfer hitters, according to D1 Baseball. According to Perfect Game, five NC State freshmen were ranked in the Top 500 of the Fresh Arrivals on Campus list. Rett Johnson (87), Vincent Decarlo (214), Mikey Ragusa (216), Aiden Kitchings (420), and Sam Harris (465).

The Wolfpack offense excelled once again in 2025, finishing the season with 72 total homers, 389 RBI, and 426 runs scored. After losses to graduation, the MLB Draft, and the transfer portal, NC State returns 43% of its home runs (31 of 72), up from 18% in the 2025 season. 49% of its RBI (192 of 389) and 52% of its runs scored (223 of 426) from the 2025 campaign.

There were seven players on last year's roster who participated in 50 or more of the Wolfpack's games. Of those seven, four return to this season's roster, with Luke Nixon and Ty Head returning, having played in all 56 games last year.

NC State was well represented on D1Baseball's lists of player rankings. Below is where the publication ranked several NC State players leading into the spring.

First Base- Chris McHugh (No. 16)
Second Base- Luke Nixon (No. 35)
Shortstop - Mikey Ryan (No. 35)
Third Base- Sherman Johnson (No. 48)
Outfielders- Ty Head (21), Brayden Fraasman (113)
Starting Pitchers- Ryan Marohn (23), Jacob Dudan (83)
Relief Pitchers- Anderson Nance (17), Collins Black (95)

After leading the Wolfpack pitching staff last season, NC State starting pitcher Ryan Marohn was named a preseason Third Team All-American by Perfect Game and the NCBWA. He was also named to Baseball America's Preseason Pitcher of the Year Watch List.

In 14 starts last season, Marohn had an 8-3 record and 3.38 ERA. He had 91 strikeouts with just 19 walks in 85.1 innings pitched, with opposing batters hitting just .248.

Named to the All-ACC Third Team last season, he finished in the top 10 of conference pitchers in both innings and strikeouts. He recorded three games with double-digit strikeouts.