The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/337646
22 ■ THE WOLFPACKER TRACKING THE PACK SEVEN WOLFPACK BASEBALL PLAYERS ARE DRAFTED NC State had seven players — junior pitcher Carlos Rodon, junior shortstop Trea Turner, junior catcher Brett Austin, junior pitcher Logan Jernigan, junior pitcher Pat- rick Peterson, senior pitcher Andrew Woeck and junior pitcher Eric Peterson — drafted in the 2014 MLB First- Year Player Draft, tying for the third most from a single team in program history. The record of nine was set in 2008, while eight were drafted in 2008 and seven in 2003. Rodon and Turner were selected in the first round, and Austin was taken in the fourth round. The Chicago White Sox grabbed Rodon with the No. 3 overall pick and also drafted Austin (No. 108 overall), while Turner was chosen No. 13 overall by the San Diego Padres. Turner has signed his contract with the Padres, while Rodon remained unsigned as of late June. Rodon and Turner became the two highest drafted players in Wolfpack baseball history, surpassing the mark of No. 26 overall set by pitcher Dan Plesac in 1983. Rodon and Turner join Plesac, pitcher Joey Devine (No. 27 in 2005) and pitcher Andrew Brackman (No. 30 in 2007) as the fourth and fifth NC State players selected among the first 30 picks of a draft. Jernigan went No. 447 overall in the 15th round to San Diego, joining Turner in the Padres organization. Patrick Peterson was selected No. 681 overall in the 23rd round by the Seattle Mariners, Woeck went No. 937 overall to the Tampa Bay Rays in the 31st round and Eric Peterson, the twin brother of Patrick, went No. 1,096 overall to the Houston Astros in the 37th round. NC STATE LOSES PITCHING COACH TO AUBURN NC State pitching coach Tom Holliday resigned from his post with the Wolfpack and accepted a position with Auburn. Holliday coached five All-ACC pitchers and four All- Americans in eight seasons on staff, including seven cam- paigns as NC State's pitching coach. He had 15 hurlers selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, including a first-rounder, a second-rounder, a fifth- rounder, a sixth-rounder, two eighth-rounders and an 11th-rounder. "When you have the kind of experience Tom has, you're going to have great opportunities," NC State baseball coach Elliott Avent said. "I wish Tom and his family all the best, and thank him for his years of service and his role in helping to build NC State." The former head coach at Oklahoma State has also been a pitching coach at Arizona State and Texas. The Sun Devils and Longhorns both won a national title when he was there, and he went to the College World Series with NC State in 2013 and also coached Oklahoma State to the CWS. NCSU WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PROGRAM SIGNS FOREIGN CENTER The NC State women's basketball team received a nice boost by adding Bosnia and Herzegovina native Sara Boric to its roster for the 2014-15 season. The 6-5 center will be immediately eligible and able to compete for the Wolfpack as a freshman beginning this fall. ProspectsNation.com rates her as a four-star recruit. "Sara is someone that we're really excited about," NC State women's basketball coach Wes Moore said. "She's right around 6-6 and brings a great presence on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor. We're excited about getting her over here and being able to start work - ing with her as we prepare for the upcoming season." Boric played high school basketball for Tehnicka Skola and has extensive international experience. She played an important role on the Bosnia-Herzegovina under-18 team at the FIBA Women's European Championship, helping her team to a fifth-place Division B finish. Boric will be heading to Romania with her Bosnia and Herzegovina teammates to compete in the 2014 U18 FIBA Women's European Championship July 17-27. "Obviously in our four-out-one-in system, that one 'in' is a very critical position," Moore said. "With the gradua - tion of Keisha Gatling and Kee-Kee [Lakeesa] Daniel, we have some big shoes to fill." WOLFPACK MEN'S BASKETBALL WILL SHOWCASE NEW COURT The NC State men's basketball team will have a new court at PNC Arena this season. The new design, which features the iconic wolf head at center court stretching nearly to each sideline, has been installed at the team's practice facility and will be duplicated on the floor at PNC Arena this fall. The design also features a clear wood lane with the new ACC logo and different shades of wood inside and outside the three-point arc. NC State's non-conference basketball schedule also is starting to come into focus. The Wolfpack will travel to Purdue Dec. 2 in the 16th year of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Purdue went 15-17 (5-13 Big Ten) last year, while the Pack posted a 22-14 (9-9 ACC) mark en route to its third consecutive NCAA bid. NCSU has an all-time mark of 4-0 against the Boilermakers. NC State will host Tennessee Dec. 17 at PNC Arena and playing against West Virginia Dec. 20 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Wolfpack will also host South Florida Nov. 23. NCSU was expected to play at Missouri this season in the return game of a home-and-home series, but the Ti - gers had some scheduling conflicts, delaying the matchup until 2015-16. OFFSEASON BRINGS CHANGES TO NC STATE'S COACHING FRATERNITY There have been numerous changes for past NC State coaches and alums over the last few months. The Wolfpack lost men's basketball video coordinator Nima Omidvar, who got hired as director of basketball operations at his alma mater Maryland. Omidvar has been in Raleigh the last three years under head coach Mark Gottfried. A trio of key figures in NC State's past also went through changes this offseason. Former NC State star point guard and ex-head coach Sidney Lowe was part of the Utah Jazz staff that was let go this offseason. How - ever, Lowe will return to be an assistant coach with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Lowe played for Minnesota in 1990, was an assistant there on three other separate oc- casions, plus served as the head coach for the T-Wolves in 1993-94. Lowe played for NC State from 1979-83. Former NC State point guard Monte Towe, who played for the Wolfpack from 1972-75, stepped down this offsea- son at Middle Tennessee State, where he was an assistant coach. Towe served as an NCSU assistant in 1978-80 under Norm Sloan and 2006-10 under Lowe. Eddie Biedenbach is also pondering his next move after being part of the coaching staff that was let go at North Carolina-Wilmington this spring. Biedenbach played for NC State from 1965-68, and then worked as an assistant coach from 1970-78 and 1993-96. Former NCSU point guard Justin Gainey was hired as director of operations at Marquette, which tabbed former Duke assistant and player Steve Wojciechowski as its head coach. Gainey reunites with former NC State assistant coach Mark Phelps, who was hired as an assistant with the Golden Eagles. Al Pinkins, who graduated from NC State in 1998, made the move from being an assistant coach at Mississippi to joining the new staff at Tennessee under head coach Donnie Tyndall. Former NC State assistant coach Tom Abatemarco, who worked under head coach Jim Valvano from 1982-86, left Loyola Marymount to be an assistant coach at Tulsa under new head coach Frank Haith, who arrived from Missouri. Former NC State forward Simon Harris was hired as a women's basketball assistant at Dayton. He had been a graduate assistant for the men's program under former Wolfpack player Archie Miller, the Flyers' men's basketball head coach. SIMON EARNSHAW NAMED NEW NCSU WOMEN'S TENNIS HEAD COACH NC State has hired Simon Earnshaw of Armstrong Atlantic State to be the new women's tennis head coach. Armstrong Atlantic State is a Division II college in Sa- vannah, Ga., where Earnshaw guided his programs to nine national championships — a record at that level. Earnshaw directed the women's program to six national titles and the men's program to three in 15 years. He is a four-time Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Na- tional Women's Coach of the Year — 2004, 2006, 2009 and 2012 — and 19-time Peach Belt Conference Coach of the Year. "Simon shares our vision that the Wolfpack's potential is unlimited," NC State athletics director Debbie Yow said. "He is a proven winner who, over time, will lead our women's tennis team to compete at the top of the ACC and NCAA. I thank Michael Lipitz and our search com- mittee for their excellent work." Earnshaw was honored and thankful for the opportu- nity to coach at NC State. "NC State offers a first-class academic experience, and we will deliver an equal tennis experience," Earnshaw said. "My family and I are extremely excited by the support and clear vision for all the programs. I look forward to the challenge of establishing our program among the ACC and nation's elite." ■ Red And White Notebook 14-16,18,20,22,24-25.TTP.indd 22 6/27/14 2:39 PM