The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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TRACKING THE PACK 12 ■ THE WOLFPACKER NC State Unveils Nonconference Basketball Slates The NC State men's and women's bas- ketball teams are set to challenge them- selves with their recently announced nonconference schedules for the 2025-26 season. First-year men's basketball coach Will Wade has assembled a nonconference slate that features five NCAA Tourna- ment teams from last season in Kansas, Auburn, Virginia Commonwealth, Lib- erty and Ole Miss. NC State will open with a four-game homestand featuring North Carolina Central, the University of Alabama at Bir- mingham, UNC Greensboro and defend- ing Atlantic 10 champion VCU. The Wolfpack will then travel to the Maui Invitational, where it will square off with Seton Hall and either Boise State or USC. NC State is guaranteed a third game at the event, but the opponent is to be determined. After returning from Hawaii, the Pack will visit Auburn in the ACC-SEC Chal- lenge before hosting UNC Asheville, a program led by Mike Morrell, one of Wade's longest-running friendships in college basketball dating back to their time together at Clemson and VCU. The tilt with UNC Asheville begins the team's second four-game homestand, with Liberty, Kansas and Texas Southern also set to visit the Lenovo Center. The Wolfpack will close the nonconfer- ence slate against Ole Miss at First Hori- zon Coliseum in Greensboro, N.C. Meanwhile, the NC State women's bas- ketball team will match up against four opponents — Tennessee, USC, TCU and Oklahoma — that reached the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 last season. NC State is set to tip off the season Nov. 4 against Tennessee in the Battle in the 'Boro, which will take place at First Ho- rizon Coliseum in Greensboro. The Lady Vols finished 15th in the final Associated Press poll last season. The Pack will meet USC at the Ally Tipoff in Charlotte. The Trojans won the Big Ten regular-season championship in their first year of conference membership and were eyeing a national title before star guard JuJu Watkins suffered a season- ending knee injury in the NCAA Tourna- ment. Watkins is back, but it's not known when she will be healthy enough to rejoin the Trojans' lineup. NC State, which has won its past 23 games at Reynolds Coliseum, will wel- come Maine for its home opener on Nov. 12. That matchup will kick off a four- game homestand that features defending Big 12 champion TCU, Coastal Carolina and Rhode Island. After its first home stint of the year, the Pack will head to Mexico for the Cancun Challenge against opponents to be deter- mined. Then come the ACC/SEC Chal- lenge at Oklahoma and games against Seton Hall at home and Davidson on the road. — Noah Fleischman Vanderbilt Transfer To Join Wolfpack Women NC State made a late roster addition when it landed Vanderbilt transfer Khamil Pierre in July. The 6-foot-2 forward joins coach Wes Moore's squad with two sea- sons of eligibility remaining. "Coach Wes has built a great culture at NC State," Pierre said. "It's become one of the powerhouses in the ACC, and I'm ex- cited to be part of such a strong program and coaching staff." Pierre averaged 20.4 points, 9.6 re- bounds and 2.1 assists per game for the Commodores last season. She totaled 17 double-doubles, which was the 15th- highest total nationally. The Phoenix na- tive scored 20 or more points in 16 games and reached double figures in all but one. "We're super excited to add Khamil to the Pack," Moore said in a statement. "We had recruited her out of high school and are thankful for a second chance to work with her. She's been a walking double- double at the Power Four level and will make an immediate impact for our pro- gram." Pierre didn't enter the portal during the spring transfer window but left Vander- bilt in June after being dismissed from the team on June 30 for undisclosed reasons. Coach Shea Ralph said it was "best for Khamil and our program to go in separate directions." Now, Pierre appears to be the front- court reinforcement that Moore needed to complete his roster ahead of the 2025- 26 season. — Noah Fleischman Correction When Trent Hidlay won the 92-kilo- gram title at the Final X event in June, he became the third NC State wrestler to make the U.S. Senior Freestyle World Team, not the second as reported in the July/August edition of The Wolfpacker. In addition to Hidlay and Nick Gwiaz- dowski, NC State has been represented on the U.S. World Team by Greg Hicks, a member of squads that competed in Istanbul, Turkey, in 1974 and Minsk, USSR, the following year. ■ ■ RED AND WHITE NOTEBOOK 2025-26 Nonconference Basketball Schedules MEN Oct. 26 vs. South Carolina (Exh.)^^ Nov. 3 NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL Nov. 7 ALABAMA BIRMINGHAM Nov. 12 UNC GREENSBORO Nov. 17 VCU Nov. 24 Seton Hall* Nov. 25 Boise State or USC* Nov. 26 Opponent TBD* Dec. 3 at Auburn** Dec. 6 UNC ASHEVILLE Dec. 10 LIBERTY Dec. 13 KANSAS Dec. 17 TEXAS SOUTHERN^ Dec. 21 Ole Miss^^ * Maui Invitational, ** ACC/SEC Challenge ^ Heritage Game in Reynolds Coliseum ^^ at Greensboro, N.C. WOMEN Oct. 18 HIGH POINT (Exh.) Oct. 26 vs. Maryland (Exh.)% Nov. 4 Tennessee* Nov. 9 USC ** Nov. 12 MAINE Nov. 16 TCU Nov. 19 COASTAL CAROLINA Nov. 23 RHODE ISLAND Nov. 27-28 Opponents TBD^ Dec. 3 at Oklahoma^^ Dec. 7 SETON HALL Dec. 21 at Davidson % at Greensboro, N.C., * Battle in the 'Boro at Greensboro, N.C., ** Ally Tipoff at Charlotte, ^ Cancun Challenge, ^^ ACC/SEC Challenge