The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1547338
TRACKING THE PACK NUMBERS AND QUOTES Sponsored by Colony Tire & Service www.colonytire.com 18 ■ THE WOLFPACKER 27 Straight double-digit scoring games for NC State senior forward Khamil Pierre to end the 2025-26 season. That is the second-longest streak by a Wolfpack player this century. Only center Markei- sha Gatling has had more with 31 during her senior season in 2013-14. 10 Victories for the women's soccer team after its 1-0 victory over Syracuse Oct. 15. The Wolfpack reached double figures in victories for the first time since finishing 12-7-4 in 2019. Junior forward Antonella Mazziotto supplied the winning goal for the Pack (10-4-2) against the Orange in the 56th minute. 8 Times in the past nine seasons NC State women's basketball has opened in the Associated Press Top 25, including its No. 25 ranking entering 2026-27. The Wolfpack has notched nine consecutive NCAA Tournament selec- tions, the longest streak in program history. 4th Longest-tenured head coach in the Football Bowl Subdivision was Dave Doeren before his dismissal during his 14th season at NC State. Only Iowa's Kirk Ferentz (28th sea- son), Air Force's Troy Calhoun (20th) and Clemson's Dabo Swinney (19th, including his 2008 interim stint) had longer active ten- ures at their schools. 3 Fumbles recovered by NC State senior linebacker POPO AGUIRRE against Lou- isville Oct. 3, setting an NC State single- game record. The Wolfpack converted those takeaways into 17 points in its 31-28 victory. Aguirre was tied for first in the FBS in fumble recoveries with 3 through Week 8, and also ranked third in the ACC and 34th in FBS with 8.7 tackles per game. The cupboard is not bare. Paul Mc- Neil Jr., a 6-foot-6 wing who scored 47 points against Texas Southern, is back after connecting on 43 percent of his three-point at- tempts in the 2025-26 campaign. Plus, four-star guard Kingston Whitty and CAA rookie of the year Preston Edmead are also onboard. It's enough talent, especially if [Justin] Gainey can mold this team into a defensive stronghold the way he did in Knoxville, for this group to flirt with an NCAA Tournament berth." — Myron Medcalf on predicting NC State's ceiling for 2026-27 to be 22 wins and a fifth-place ACC finish and its floor to be 19 wins and ninth-place league finish 373 Passing yards for quarterback CJ Bailey against Louisville Oct. 3, establishing a career high. Bailey completed 24 of 40 attempts with 2 touchdowns in the 31-28 victory. He made us believe things we could not see with our own eyes. If he was to tell us to go run through that wall, that there was some- thing on the other side, you best believe we would go run through it." — Former NC State linebacker Dantonio Burnette, who is now the director of strength and conditioning, on Chuck Amato 2 Games played by the NC State football team on the West Coast in the last three years: a 24-23 win at Cal in 2024 and a 31-28 loss at Stanford in 2026. Prior to those two contests, NC State played at UCLA in consecutive seasons six and a half decades ago — a 21-12 loss in 1959 and a 7-0 loss in 1960. The Pack was scheduled to play in the 2021 SDCCU Holiday Bowl in San Diego, but the game was called off on game day — after the team spent six days in California — when UCLA withdrew because of COVID-19 protocols. NC State has played regular-season games west of the Mississippi River 15 times in the past 66 years, just twice under former head coach Dave Doeren and just three times since the turn of the century (also at Texas Tech in 2002). 115 Blocked shots for NC State center KYLE EVANS at UC Irvine last season. He led the nation in total blocks and blocks per game (3.3). PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS