The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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20 ■ THE WOLFPACKER TRACKING THE PACK FIVE WOLFPACK PLAYERS GO IN MLB DRAFT NC State's baseball team had five players selected dur- ing the MLB Draft June 8-10, with junior first baseman Preston Palmeiro going the highest out of the group. The Wolfpack had five players or more get drafted for the third straight year under manager Elliott Avent. Palmeiro was taken in the seventh round and No. 211 overall to the Baltimore Orioles, which is the or- ganization his father, Rafael, played for from 1994-98 and 2004-05. Palmeiro was second on the Wolfpack with a .337 batting average, and he slugged nine homers and 20 doubles with 55 runs batted in. He had a .412 on-base percentage and .539 slugging percentage. Junior catcher Andrew Knizner, who began his career at third base for the Wolfpack, also was selected in the seventh round. He went No. 226 overall to the St. Louis Cardinals after hitting .292 with six home runs and 30 RBI for NCSU this spring. NC State's next three draft picks were all pitchers. Senior Will Gilbert went in the eighth round at pick No. 232 to the Oakland Athletics. The left-hander was 5-1 with a 2.22 ERA and struck out 62 in 52 2/3 innings. Junior left-hander Ryan Williamson injured his elbow toward the end of the season, but he still went in the 15th round (No. 454) to the Washington Nationals. Wil - liamson was 7-2 with a 2.69 ERA, and struck out 77 in 70 1/3 innings. He started 15 games and held opposing hitters to a .234 batting average. Redshirt sophomore relief pitcher Cody Beckman was selected in the 25th round (No. 760) by the New York Mets. The southpaw appeared in 16 games and went 2-0 with a 6.05 ERA. He struck out 23 and walked eight in 19 1/3 innings. As of publication, Palmeiro and Beckman had not signed with their respective teams. The Washington Nationals signed undrafted designated hitter Chance Shepard, who led the Pack with 15 home runs. Three recruits were also drafted. Junior college pitcher Tucker Davidson, a lefty from Midland (Tex.) College, went to the Atlanta Braves in the 19th round (No. 559) and has signed, foregoing a career at NC State. High school right-handed pitchers Malcolm Van Buren from Hanahan (S.C.) High and Michael Bienlien from Chesapeake (Va.) Great Bridge High went in the late rounds. Van Buren's name was called in the 31st round (No. 943) by the Kansas City Royals, and Bienlien was picked in the 40th and final round (No. 1,118) by the Cincinnati Reds. Like Davidson, Van Buren elected to sign. Bienlien is expected to enroll at NCSU. FORMER NC STATE GUARDS FIND NEW HOMES NC State junior point guard Anthony Barber was hoping to hear his name called during the NBA Draft June 23, but he ended up going undrafted. The scoring whiz from Newport News, Va., is in a similar situation to his former teammate, Trevor Lacey, who went undrafted in 2015. Lacey, who gave up a year of college eligibility to enter the draft, played for the Cleveland Cavaliers last summer, hoping to catch on in the NBA. He ended up signing with Victoria Libertas Pesaro in Italy, and aver - aged 14.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. Lacey elected to sign with Dinamo Sassari June 19 to further pursue his professional career in Italy. Barber was picked up by the New Orleans Pelicans the night of the draft, and will play in the Las Vegas Summer League July 8-18. The league will give Barber to showcase his game for all 30 NBA teams, with the hope of getting invited to training camp, or enhance his résumé to play overseas or in the NBDL. DraftExpress.com had Barber slotted for the No. 56 pick in the 60-player draft, so going undrafted wasn't a complete shock. Three point guards (or combo guards) went in the first round, and seven in the second round. The 6-2, 190-pounder averaged an ACC-best 23.5 points per game last season, to go along with 4.6 re - bounds and 4.5 assists a contest. He scored at least 30 points in eight games for the Wolfpack, including a sea- son-high 38 in a 99-88 win over Wake Forest Feb. 13. NC STATE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE SHAPING UP The NC State women's basketball team will be spending the Thanksgiving holiday at Saint Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Wolfpack has been invited to compete in the Basketball Travelers' Paradise Jam Nov. 24-26. NC State opens up against Kansas State at 2 p.m. Nov. 24, followed by facing UTEP at 4:15 p.m. Nov. 25 and then LSU at 2 p.m. Nov. 26. The Wolfpack have played Kansas State and LSU twice in the past, but have never played UTEP. Both Kansas State (NCAA round of 32) and UTEP (WNIT quarterfinals) were postseason teams last year. NC State's non-conference slate also includes Indi - ana in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge Dec. 1 at the reno- vated Reynolds Coliseum. The Wolfpack returns its top five scorers from last season and welcomes three top-90 recruits into the program. The upcoming year will be the first after the $35 million renovation to their home arena. WOLFPACK SIGN CANADIAN TENNIS STANDOUT NC State signed its third member of the class of 2016, with the addition of Alexis Galarneau of Mon- treal, Quebec. The 5-11, 150-pound Galarneau joins four-star re- cruits Sean Burnette and Paul Spencer, and the trio are expected to make an immediate impact for head coach Jon Choboy. Galarneau has a plethora of tennis experience, play- ing internationally for Tennis Canada. He has made appearances in several ITF junior events, winning the Copa La Libertad U18 ITF G4 singles title and advanc- ing to at least the semifinals in four other ITF tourna- ments. He is also a talented doubles player, capturing a national title in doubles three times during his prep career. Galarneau has posted 44 singles wins and 42 doubles victories on the ITF Junior circuit and has a career-high rating of 97th in the ITF Juniors rankings. Galarneau also holds victories over four blue-chip recruits. ■ Red And White Notebook Junior first baseman Preston Palmeiro went the highest of NC State's five draftees, going n the seventh round (No. 211 overall i) to the Baltimore Orioles. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN