South Raleigh News

OMAHA, Neb. – No. 10 national seed NC State will open its fourth trip to Omaha against No. 2 national seed Kentucky (45-14) on Saturday afternoon at Charles Schwab Field. The Wolfpack's opening matchup at the Men's College World Series is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT/2 p.m. ET and will be televised on ESPN.

A free audio stream will be available on the Varsity Network App for each Wolfpack matchup in the College World Series and will also be broadcasted on WKNC 88.1 and 99.9 The Fan with Andrew Sanders providing commentary.

This marks NC State's second appearance in Omaha in the past four years and third since 2013. Notable highlights from their previous trips include:

• In 1968, under head coach Sam Esposito, NC State advanced to Omaha for the first time by winning the District 3 Championship in Gastonia, North Carolina.

• In 2013, head coach Elliott Avent led his team to Omaha after a perfect record in regional play and back-to-back one-run victories over Rice in the Raleigh Super Regional.

• In 2021, NC State swept the NCAA Ruston Regional and upset top-seeded Arkansas in the Super Regionals before being eliminated due to COVID-19 protocols.

NC State holds a narrow 4-3 advantage in its all-time series against Kentucky, including notable wins during NCAA Tournament matchups.

The potential meeting with Texas A&M would mark their first encounter, while NC State holds a historical record of 2-5 against Florida, with most encounters occurring during NCAA Tournaments.

With a current record of 5-1 leading up to Omaha, NC State boasts an all-time record of 68-69 in its NCAA Tournament history spanning across 34 appearances.

NC State’s athletics department has seen considerable success this spring:

• It is the only school nationally to have men's and women's basketball teams make the Sweet 16, its baseball team make Super Regionals, and its football team participate in a bowl game.

• It is among eight schools that made postseason appearances across baseball, football, men's basketball, and women's basketball.

• It hosted both an NCAA Baseball Regional and the NCAA Women's Basketball First and Second Rounds alongside Oregon State.

NC State finished its ACC play strong with a schedule ranked third nationally according to warrennolan.com.

Sophomore closer Derrick Smith has shown impressive form over recent months with an ERA of 0.90 over his last fourteen appearances.

Additionally, NC State recorded seven walk-off wins this season including significant victories against Towson, Boston College, Duke, Notre Dame (twice), North Carolina, and Wake Forest.