The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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TRACKING THE PACK 12 ■ THE WOLFPACKER NC State To Face Tar Heels In Nonconference Clash It's official. The NC State and North Carolina men's basketball teams will meet for a nonconference game in Greensboro this coming season. Dubbed the Tobacco Road Classic, the game will take place Dec. 15 at First Horizon Coliseum. It will be the teams' first regular-season meeting in Greens- boro since they faced off at the Big Four Tournament on Nov. 30, 1979. "I'm so excited that we were able to put this game together," first-year Wolfpack coach Justin Gainey said at an Aug. 19 news conference announcing the matchup. "Coming back to Greens- boro is going to be a special moment. I'm excited to see all our fans come here, really show up and have a big impact and presence." The programs agreed to a two-year deal to play nonconference games in Greensboro, starting this season and finishing during the 2027-28 campaign. The nonconference games are aimed at ensuring the two teams meet twice annually despite changes to the ACC's scheduling format. The Tar Heels and Wolfpack are now guaranteed to play each other twice in the regular season for the next two campaigns. NC State and UNC met just once last season, in Lenovo Center, making the 2025-26 campaign the first since 1919 in which the intrastate rivals didn't play in Chapel Hill. This year's ACC meeting will take place in the Smith Center. It will be the first time since 1947 that the teams haven't played in Raleigh. NC State is also set to play in the Baha Mar Hoops Championship (Se- ton Hall, Wisconsin and Murray State) Nov. 19-20 in Nassau, Bahamas, and there are neutral-site matchups coming against Tennessee (Dec. 6 in Nashville) and Ole Miss (Dec. 19 in either Tupelo, Miss., or Southaven, Miss). The Pack's only known home nonconference game is against South Carolina in the ACC- SEC Challenge on Dec. 1. Women's Basketball Team Unveils Nonconference Slate Coming off its ninth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament, the NC State women's basketball team will face a chal- lenging nonconference schedule in 2026. The Wolfpack is set to face four NCAA Tournament teams from last sea- son (Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss and Jack- sonville), while three other opponents made the WBIT field a year ago (Seton Hall, Kansas State and Navy). After opening the season with a pair of home games against Wofford and Camp- bell on Nov. 2 and 4, respectively, the Pack will face Kentucky Nov. 8 in the Ally Tipoff at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte. NC State will then square off with visiting Liberty (Nov. 11) before travel- ing to Seton Hall (Nov. 15) for its first true road game of the year. The trek to New Jersey will allow senior guard Zoe Brooks to play in her home state for the first time in her collegiate career. The Pack will then return home to play Georgetown (Nov. 19) and Coastal Carolina (Nov. 22) ahead of its annual Thanksgiving trip, which will be to Flor- ida for the Elevance Health Fort Myers Tipoff against Kansas State (Nov. 27, 7 p.m.) and LSU (Nov. 28, 4:30 p.m.). NC State will also face Ole Miss in the SEC-ACC Challenge on Dec. 2 in Oxford, Miss., followed by home games against Davidson (Dec. 6), Jacksonville (Dec. 9) and Navy (Dec. 20). Former Pack Catcher Jim Toman Dies After Cancer Battle Jim Toman knew how to make an im- pact when college baseball's postseason arrived. Nicknamed "Storm" for his dugout antics over the years, Toman mashed 6 home runs at the ACC Tournament dur- ing his four-year playing career. He saved his best performance for his final trip to the event, launching 4 homers, including a grand slam, to set the tourney's total bases record (25) as a senior in 1984. Toman, a two-time Wolfpack captain who went on to a long career in coach- ing, died Aug. 4 at age 64 after battling brain cancer. Former Pack coach Ray Tanner, an assistant during Toman's playing days who later hired him at both NC State and South Carolina, shared the news via social media. "We are all indebted to you for the impact you made on our lives — players, coaches, staff, and fans alike," Tanner wrote. Toman served as a high school coach for several years before being hired by Florida International in 1989. He then returned to Raleigh to join the Wolfpack coaching staff under Tanner from 1990-96. When Tanner left NC State for South Carolina, he took Toman with him to Columbia. Toman helped the Game- cocks make three consecutive trips to the College World Series from 2002-04. From 2008-16, Toman was head coach at Liberty, guiding the Flames to the NCAA Tournament twice. The Monroeville, Pa., native spent the last four years of his coaching career at Mid- dle Tennessee. Toman finished with a 406-308-2 re- cord as a head coach. He led Liberty to the 2013 Big South title and was named the 2014 Big South Conference Coach of the Year. — Noah Fleischman ■ RED AND WHITE NOTEBOOK Head coach Justin Gainey grew up in Greensboro and said he is excited to return home for NC State's game against North Carolina. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS