The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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132 ■ THE WOLFPACKER SENIOR SALUTES Baseball Star Evan Edwards Has No Regrets Evan Edwards did not have a long list of options coming out of Southern Guilford High in Greensboro, N.C. His high school was not known as a hotbed of baseball talent. Edwards, though, never had a doubt that he had a future in the sport. His hope was that future would take him to NC State, somehow. In the final at-bat of his college career, facing ECU ace and New York Yankees fourth-round draft pick Jake Agnos, Edwards launched a long solo home run to right field — for NC State. In two years in Raleigh, Edwards played first base as well as anyone has done for the Pack under head coach Elliott Avent, a statement made by Avent himself. Edwards grew up around NC State fans, both in his family and among friends. Ironically, he graduated in the same senior class at Southern Guilford that included running back Reggie Gallaspy Jr., who rushed for more than 1,000 yards this past year for the Wolfpack football team. Playing at a youth showcase baseball event at Doak Field in Raleigh helped reinforce Edwards' dream of suiting up for the Wolfpack. "I always wanted to come here to play," he noted. Any chance of making it to Raleigh out of high school was going to require a detour, which Edwards found at USC Lancaster, a junior college in Lancaster, S.C. He hit .339 with 12 homers and 69 RBI as a freshman for the Lancers. "I wouldn't change it for the world," Edwards said of his stop at USC Lancaster. "I had the time of my life there. I had some good coaches and some good teammates that I still talk to today. It was fun." The coaches at USC Lancaster reached out to NC State, and the Pack followed up by watching Edwards play. He earned an offer to play for the Wolfpack. "It was my first offer my sophomore year," Edwards recalled. "And I took it before they could take it away." Edwards batted .342 with 17 homers and 57 RBI as a sophomore and was on his way. His stop at USC Lancaster also taught him a valuable lesson: baseball is a grind. The good thing about junior college baseball is that the leap to major college baseball is not as significant as it would have been coming out of high school. In fact, Edwards said the school aspect of NC State was a bigger adjustment. However, he still had to win a starting job. "Competing for the position here was pretty tough," Edwards said. "I got to know the other guys [at first base]. We didn't hate each other." Edwards would start 55 of 59 games he played in last year, and hit .297 with 15 homers and 48 RBI. He had an impres - sive .419 on-base percentage and .564 slugging percentage. The production along with his stellar defense at first base left open the possi - bility that he would be one-and- done at NC State. For that to happen, an MLB team was going to have to make Edwards a great offer. "I guess it was a 50-50 thing," Ed - wards said. "I set a number [for a signing bonus] and they weren't able to reach the number. I was completely fine with coming back here and doing my senior year." Edwards called his final season "awesome" and "a blast." He hit .330 with 14 home runs and 60 RBI this year, improving his on-base percentage to .455 and slugging percentage to .604. That helped him be named third-team All-ACC. The ultimate goal was Omaha for the College World Series, but NC State came up short. Next is chasing his MLB dream. Edwards was the first senior selected in the MLB Draft, going in the fourth round to the Miami Marlins. He signed for a $122,500 bonus. Five More Notable Seniors These five seniors are among those who have completed their Wolfpack careers and left their marks on the field of play. Torin Dorn, Basketball In the final game of his career, Dorn left it all on the floor. He scored 34 points while making 15 of 22 shots from the field against Lipscomb at Reynolds Coliseum in the quarterfinals of the NIT. He led NC State in scoring (14.0 points per game) and re - bounding (7.2) this year, and finished his Wolfpack career with averages of 12.5 points and 6.1 boards over three seasons after transferring in from Charlotte. Reggie Gallaspy Jr., Football Not many football players hear their first name chanted at Carter-Finley Stadium during a game, but at the end of his 220-yard rushing performance against East Carolina in the regular-season finale, the crowd was chanting "Reggie, Reggie." That was one week after the scored all five touchdowns for NC State in a 34-28 overtime win at UNC. That ECU game put Gallaspy over 1,000 yards for the year. He finished with 1,091 yards and 18 touchdowns on the ground, the latter tying a school record. Adding in his one receiving score, Gallaspy set a new program mark for most total touch - downs in a year. Taylor Porter, Soccer NC State women's soccer transformed itself over the four years Porter played in Raleigh from a team that struggled at the bottom of the ACC to three straight NCAA Tournament appear - ances that included two Sweet 16 finishes. Porter started all 85 games in her career and scored six goals and had five assists from her defensive midfielder position. She signed a National Team replacement contract with the Orlando Pride of the National Women's Soc - cer League in May, making her the first former NC State player to sign a NWSL contract. Amanda Rebol, Tennis The heralded senior from Cumming, Ga., was a steady contributor for four years in NC State's singles lineup, win - ning at least 12 matches each year and finishing with a 30-13 mark as a senior. That left Rebol with a school-best 89 singles wins for her career. Justin Ress, Men's Swimming Ress was a star signing from Cary, N.C., and finished his career as a 21-time All- American (counting relays), 11-time ACC champion and a part of three national title- winning relays. His best individual year came in 2019. He was an All-American in the 50 and 100 free- style plus 100 backstroke races, doubling the total of individual All-America honors he had previously achieved. He reached the A finals (top eight) of both freestyle races and quali- fied for the B finals in the backstroke. Edwards batted .330 with 14 home runs and 60 RBI, while also playing stellar defense at first base, in his final season with the Wolfpack. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN