The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1523120
TRACKING THE PACK 12 ■ THE WOLFPACKER Matt Chazanow Hired As NC State's Play-By-Play Announcer After a national search that attracted more than 150 applicants, veteran broad- caster Matt Chazanow was announced in June as NC State's new play-by-play an- nouncer for football and men's basketball. Chazanow comes to Raleigh from Washington State, where he had been doing play-by-play for the school's football, basketball and baseball teams since 2015. He has also been a national play-by-play announcer for Westwood One Radio and Learfield. A 2006 Syracuse graduate, he will succeed Gary Hahn, the longtime voice of the Wolfpack who retired in April. Chazanow got his start in broadcasting at High Point University, and during a subsequent seven-year tenure as senior network manager for Learfield, he was based in Winston-Salem. He called his return to North Carolina "an incredible op - portunity." "The passion and power of the Pack is renowned in college athletics, and to be entrusted to take the baton from Gary Hahn and tell the stories of NC State is truly humbling," he said in a prepared statement. "I can't wait to get started." Athletics director Boo Corrigan said Chazanow will be a good fit for a multifac- eted job. "Chaz understands that this role isn't only about calling games, but about bring- ing special moments and memories to Wolfpack fans of all ages," Corrigan said. "While he is a very talented radio announcer, he will also be a great representa- tive of our university, our brand and our culture." — Matt Herb RJ Greer Is First To Join 2025 Basketball Class Three-star guard RJ Greer of Archbishop Alter High in Kettering, Ohio, planned to officially visit Cincinnati and Penn State after his trip to NC State in mid-June, but by the time he returned home from Raleigh, he had a good feeling about the Wolfpack. "Just seeing the coaching staff again and really seeing how much they genuinely wanted me and how they were, it was a no-brainer," Greer said. "I came back and talked with my parents, and I said, 'I don't think I need to take another official visit.'" Greer, the No. 131 overall player nationally and No. 3 prospect in Ohio in the On3 Industry Ranking, announced his commitment to the Pack on June 16, be - coming the first recruit to join NC State's 2025 class. A 6-foot-4, 170-pound shoot- ing guard, he will occupy one of at least eight open scholarships NC State will have following the 2024-25 season. While there were other programs in pursuit of Greer, NC State coach Kevin Keatts' involvement in his recruiting process paid off for the Pack. Greer's decision came down to the relationships he built with Keatts and associate head coach Kareem Richardson. That made his choice fairly easy once he went back home to Dayton. "The players that I've talked to have been great," Greer said. "The coaching staff and everybody is genuine. I think it's just a great community, and I've al - ready gotten great love from the fan base. It's been great." Greer averaged 16 points per game as a junior, helped lead Archbishop Alter to a state title with 17 points in the championship game and was named to the second-team Division II all-state unit. — Noah Fleischman Men's Basketball Team Set To Meet Jayhawks NC State has agreed to a home-and-home men's basketball series with Kansas, according to a report from CBS Sports' Matt Norlander. Per the report, NC State will visit historic Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kan., on Dec. 14, while the Jay- hawks will visit Raleigh in 2025. NC State is 1-12 all-time against Kansas. The teams last played one another in the 2022 Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas, where the Jayhawks won, 80-74. In its Way-Too-Early college basketball rankings for next season, ESPN listed Kansas No. 1. — Noah Fleischman Wolfpack Shuffling Football Schedules When NC State announced a home-and-home series with Virginia for the 2025 and '26 football seasons, it meant that the Wolfpack was going to have to shuffle its nonconference schedule. One of the consequences of the Cavaliers' addition is that the 2025 game against Appalachian State, originally set for Sept. 6 in Boone, N.C., no longer appears on the Mountaineers' schedule. The Sept. 26, 2026, game in Raleigh is still on. Although the series is being delayed, it appears that both parties are willing to honor the agreement with a new date for the game at App State. "I can tell you that we've had a lot of conversations with NC State," Appalachian State athletics director Doug Gillin said. "We're both committed to still playing. We're going to go down there in '26. We're looking for the right date for them to come up. "They had some things that they wanted to look at in '25 that would take our home date out of the mix. We're trying to figure out with them, collaboratively, when we can reschedule that game." The Wolfpack has open nonconference dates in 2027, '29 and '30, but the slates are full in 2025, '26 and '28. NC State will play Campbell, East Carolina, at Notre Dame and Virginia in 2025. It is also set to host App State, Florida and Richmond, with trips to Vanderbilt and Virginia in 2026, but one of those games will need to be moved to stay within the 12-game college football regular-season schedule. The Wolfpack's 2028 nonconference slate includes trips to East Carolina and Troy, with home dates against Campbell and Vanderbilt. While NC State and Virginia are both in the ACC, their matchups in 2025 and '26 will be considered nonconference games. The series was arranged because the two teams were only set to play twice in the next seven years under the current league schedule. — Noah Fleischman ■ RED AND WHITE NOTEBOOK Three-star guard RJ Greer chose NC State in June, in part because of the relationship he had developed with head coach Kevin Keatts. PHOTO COURTESY RJ GREER