The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1536961
TRACKING THE PACK NUMBERS AND QUOTES Sponsored by Colony Tire & Service www.colonytire.com PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE FOOTBALL PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS 7th The NC State men's final ranking in the Intercol- legiate Tennis Association poll. It's the Wolfpack's highest-ever year-end ranking, easily surpassing its No. 18 finish in 2022. NC State finished its campaign with a 22-7 record, compiling its most wins since going 23-11 in 2007. The Pack beat 14 ranked opponents, including four in the top 10. 20th NC State's spot in the final Learfield Directors' Cup rank- ings for the 2024-25 athletics year. The Wolfpack amassed 854.75 points in the all-sports competition, the fifth-best total among ACC teams. Texas took first place overall with 1,255.25 points, outpacing No. 2 USC (1,253.75) and No. 3 Stanford (1,251.00). This is the fifth year in a row, and sixth year all time, in which the Pack has finished in the top 25 of the final Directors' Cup standings. 42nd NC State's place on Adam Rittenberg's 1-through-68 "future power rankings" of all Power Four football teams. The ESPN college football writer based his grades on quarterback tal- ent and retention, roster management, star power and coaching acumen, among other factors. Rittenberg described sophomore quarterback CJ BAILEY as "a major bright spot" in an uneven 2024 season and noted that he "will be the centerpiece of NC State's offense" in the years to come. 41st Qadence Samuels' national ranking, per ESPN HoopGurlz, in the 2023 recruiting cycle. The 6-foot guard from Forestville, Md., signed with Connecticut out of Bishop McNamara High and spent her first two seasons in Storrs, Conn., but she trans - ferred to NC State in May. Samuels averaged 3.2 points and 1.8 rebounds in 69 games with the Huskies. 26.97 seconds KATHARINE BERKOFF'S winning time in the 50-meter backstroke at the U.S. National Championships on June 5 in Indianapolis. The former NC State great broke the American re- cord of 27.10 seconds, previously held by Regan Smith. Finishing just ahead of Smith, Berkoff became only the third woman ever to break 27 seconds in the event. Her finish ranks second all-time behind the time of 26.86 that Australia's Kaylee McKeown posted in 2023. 18 ■ THE WOLFPACKER 31.8 percent RYDER GARINO'S strikeout rate as a freshman pitcher at South Carolina, a figure that would have led NC State's staff this past season. On June 9, the rising sophomore became the Pack's first transfer addition for the 2026 season. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS