Elliott Avent Made Me an NC State Baseball Fan

Growing up in an N.C. State household in eastern North Carolina, I very rarely missed watching football or basketball games. But Wolfpack baseball wasn’t really on my radar.

I can certainly remember major moments along the way - Elliott Avent hitting the spin move against Coastal, the Rodon and Turner and Austin years, missed regional opportunities - yet the Pack9 was largely on the backburner for me as an N.C. State fan, even after attending games while enrolled as a student.

2021 completely changed that. Coming out of one of the most stressful and chaotic periods of my life, with a global pandemic raging and normal life paused, I began tuning in more closely that Spring. That team’s poor start and incredible finish is well documented, and it perfectly represents the beauty of what can happen in organized sports.

It was exciting seeing that team come out of the Ruston regional, and then truly awe inspiring to see them advance out of Fayetteville. I vividly remember losing my mind on a family vacation when Jose Torres put State ahead in the top of the ninth of game three. On the unhittable Kevin Kopps, no less.

We know how that year ended. The valiant effort from the Pack13, the 3 AM announcement from the NCAA. We all know that this program should have a national title sitting inside of the clubhouse. But even with the injustice and bitter finish, I was hooked. The journey of that team, the way Elliott Avent stood up for them, and the turnaround sold me for good.

It is obvious to me now that this run doesn’t happen without Elliott Avent - not because of the coaching job he achieved that year, but because of the energy and time and love he has poured into this program to get it here. 30 years of consistency at any one thing can yield impressive results, and 1,103 wins and 3 trips to Omaha in Raleigh certainly fits that bill.

Yet I doubt the victories and accomplishments affixed on the outfield is what he will be remembered for. 

We live in an era where success in college sports is defined almost entirely by wins and losses. I fall into this trap as well; I’m a competitive person. I want to see N.C. State win at the highest level everywhere. I’d be lying if I said this wasn’t the first thing I think about when considering the merits of past, current, and future coaching staffs.

But we are seeing more and more leaders in sports sacrifice morality or ethics to climb. We just had one of those roll through our campus last year. That is the polar opposite of who Elliott Avent is. 

Avent has given so much of himself not just to the players and the N.C State community, but to folks who need help. Avent collaborated with Trea Turner to start N.C. State’s annual Victory Over Cancer fundraiser to fight pediatric cancer. Inspired by alum Chris Comb’s battle with ALS, Avent also helped formalize an annual Strikeout ALS game and fundraiser to drive donations and awareness for both causes. You read articles like this one from Aaron Fitt about the size of his heart, and you hear how he treats media, fans, and officials with kindness. (Except, perhaps, when his guys are getting squeezed.)

Elliott Avent is leaving the N.C. State baseball program - scratch that, the N.C. State community - so much better than he found it. State has two trips to Omaha this decade, a developing Doak complex, and a smooth transition in leadership to another man who has spent decades inside of the program. 

And still, those talking points feel small when considering the totality of what Avent has meant to N.C. State.

There is no way to accurately figure the number of people Elliott Avent has touched. How many fans, like me, he’s converted, families he’s affected, or goals he’s helped achieve across a number of noble causes. But when people in Raleigh talk about him for years to come, they will not get far in their description of him without mentioning the quality of human being he is, and level of impact he has had in Raleigh.

That’s the good stuff right there. I am grateful that the reason I am a fan today can be attributed to such a great human being. 

For making me a fan, for the lives you’ve touched, and the legacy you’re leaving: thank you, 9.