The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1519757
TRACKING THE PACK 12 ■ THE WOLFPACKER Payton Wilson And Katharine Berkoff Take Top Honors At The Wolfie Awards All-America linebacker Payton Wilson and national champion swimmer Katharine Berkoff headlined the honorees at the annual Wolfie Awards on April 22 at Reynolds Coliseum. Wilson and Berkoff received the H.C. Kennett Award, the university's highest athletic honor. Berkoff became the first woman in ACC history to win five consecutive conference titles in the same event after she took the crown in the 100-yard back - stroke at the 2024 league championships. She went on to win her third national title in the 100 backstoke, claiming the fifth NCAA crown of her career. Wilson was the recipient of the 2023 Butkus and Bednarik awards, which go to the nation's top line- backer and top defensive player, respectively. He was a consensus All-America selection and the 2023 ACC Defensive Player of the Year after finishing his final college season with 138 total tackles, including a conference-best 17.5 for loss. Other honorees at the Wolfie Awards included wom- en's tennis player Diana Shnaider and wide receiver Kevin "KC" Concepcion (rookies of the year); distance runner Kelsey Chmiel and wrestler Trent Hidlay (ACC Scholar-Athletes of the Year), and women's tennis player Alana Smith (comeback player of the year). — Noah Fleischman NC State Inducts Eight Into Hall Of Fame NC State saluted its Athletic Hall of Fame induction class at a sold-out ceremony April 20 in Reynolds Coli- seum. The honorees were Bradley Chubb (football, 2014-17), Rollie Geiger (cross country/track and field coach, 1979-present), Beth Harrell (women's swim- ming, 1977-81), Vic Molodet (men's basketball, 1954- 56), Sam Okpodu (men's soccer, 1981-84), Volire Tisdale-Brown (volleyball, 1984-88) and Trena Trice (women's basketball, 1983-87). In addition to the 2024 honorees, NC State formally inducted Philip Rivers at the ceremony. Rivers, who set an NCAA record by starting 51 consecutive games at quarterback from 2000-03, had been elected to the NC State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013. The ceremony was hosted by Cullen Jones, a gold-medal-winning Olympic swimmer and a 2018 inductee into the hall. — Matt Herb Two From Football Team Enter Transfer Portal NC State lost a pair of football players when the transfer window reopened on April 16. Redshirt soph- omore defensive lineman Nick Campbell and redshirt junior wide receiver Julian Gray both entered the por- tal after the Wolfpack wrapped up spring drills. Gray played 366 snaps in 2023, finishing with 16 catches for 170 yards and 1 touchdown, while adding 442 yards and a TD on kick returns. The impact of Gray's departure is likely to be felt most acutely on special teams. He averaged 26 yards per kickoff return last season, a figure that ranks fifth in program history. He was a game-changer as a spe - cialist and helped a struggling NC State offense early in the season by frequently setting up the Pack with good field position. Campbell played only 3 snaps last fall and was cred- ited with 2 assisted tackles. His decision to enter the portal provides some clarity at the backup nose guard spot, with redshirt sophomore D.J. Jackson having emerged as the winner of that competition coming out of spring practice. — Ethan McDowell Kevin Keatts Named Division I Coach Of The Year NC State head coach Kevin Keatts was named the Division I Clarence "Big House" Gaines College Basketball Coach of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. The award is intended to honor Division I and Division II coaches who may not have earned recognition from larger outlets after the season. An NSMA committee votes on the awards fol - lowing the NCAA men's and women's tournaments. Keatts led the Wolfpack to nine consecutive post- season victories, including five in as many days to claim the program's first ACC Tournament title since 1987. He helped NC State continue its winning ways with four consecutive victories in the NCAA Tourna - ment, which ended in the Pack's first Final Four ap- pearance since 1983. NC State finished the season with a 26-15 record. Its 26 wins are the most in a single season in Keatts' tenure as head coach. He has a 139-94 overall record with the Pack and has led it to 20 or more wins in five of his seven seasons. — Noah Fleischman Basketball Assistant Joel Justus Heads To Ohio State Assistant coach Joel Justus left NC State in early April to become associate head coach at Ohio State. Justus spent two seasons on Kevin Keatts' staff in Raleigh and was instrumental in guiding the Pack to the Final Four this season. He has joined Jake Die- bler's inaugural staff with the Buckeyes. Diebler was named interim head coach during the season and earned the full title in March. Justus worked with NC State's guards and was a key part of Casey Morsell's development. Morsell went from making 60 three-pointers in his first three seasons of college basketball to nailing 78 in his first year with Justus. Morsell hit 37 treys this season and finished his collegiate career with 175 made triples. Justus also had his hand in assisting Terquavion Smith, Jarkel Joiner and DJ Horne during his time in Raleigh. Before Justus arrived at NC State, he spent one season at Arizona State and the previous seven at Kentucky. — Noah Fleischman ■ RED AND WHITE NOTEBOOK Linebacker Payton Wilson was named a consensus All-American after totaling 138 tackles in his final season with the Wolfpack. He recently received the H.C. Kennett Award from NC State. PHOTO BY LARRY BLANKENSHIP