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NC State Honors Student Athletes at 2014 Wolfies

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Check out GoPack.com’s behind the scenes look at the ‘Wolfies’

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RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State Athletic Department held its annual “Wolfie Awards” Monday evening inside historic Reynolds Coliseum. This gala event showcased the best and brightest in Wolfpack Athletics over the past calendar year.

Senior forward and recent WNBA Draft pick Kody Burke stole the show on Monday evening, winning a total of three awards. The Northridge, Calif., native won the Kay Yow Award, the ACC Female Scholar Athlete of the Year award, and one of the two H.C. Kennett Awards.

The highest athletic award at NC State, the H.C. Kennett Award is given annually to a male and female superior athlete who demonstrates the finest attributes of good sportsmanship and team play. Carlos Rodon of the baseball team joined Burke as the male recipient of the award.

Burke earned her third CoSIDA Academic All-American honors this year, becoming just the third women’s basketball player in school history to make the award’s first team. She also earned All-ACC second team honors and ended her senior season second in program history in career appearances (132) and career blocks (197), ninth in career rebounds (832), and 11th in career points scored (1,588).

Rodon was named National Player of the Year during the 2013 season, posting a 2.99 ERA in 19 starts (10-3 record). He had three complete games and totaled 132.1 innings and 184 strikeouts. Rodon was named a second team All-American by both Collegiate Baseball and the NCBWA in addition to earning third team All-American honors from Baseball America.

Here’s a look at the other award winners on the Pack’s special night:

Female Rookie of the Year – Jackie Stengel (Women’s Soccer)
One of only three freshmen to be named All-ACC in the country’s most dominant conference, Stengel had an incredible freshman season for the Wolfpack, leading the team in goals, points, shots, and shots on goal (23). Stengel earned recognition on the All-ACC Third Team and the ACC All-Freshman Team. She was also selected for the U20 United States National Team in preparation for the 2014 FIFA U20 Women’s Word Cup in Canada.

Male Rookie of the Year – Andreas Schierllerup (Swimming and Diving)
Andreas Schiellerup is the school record holder in the 100 backstroke, 200 and 400 medley relays, and the 200 and 400 freestyle relays. He was a finalist at the ACC Championships in the 50 freestyle and 100 backstroke. In addition, Schiellerup was a member of the 100 freestyle ACC Championship team, the 200 medley relay, 200 & 400 freestyle relay and on the team that set a ACC Record in the 200 & 400 freestyle relays and the 200 medley relay.

Comeback Player of the Year – Emily Pritt (Women’s Cross Country)
After earning All-ACC and All-America honors during her sophomore year, NC State redshirt senior Pritt developed a hip injury that kept her away from cross country for three years. After a grueling rehab process, Pritt returned to compete for the team this season, racing for the first time in a cross country capacity since 2009. She also competed in the ACC Championships on Nov. 1 and ended up with the second-best result on the Wolfpack women’s team at that race. Pritt went on to earn All-Region honors for the Wolfpack at NCAA Regionals, helping the NC State women earn a third-place finish at the event.

Community Spirit Award – Gymnastics
In addition to excelling in the classroom, the gym, and holding a strong fan base, the team spends a great deal of its spare time reaching out to the community and volunteering its time. The team also wore pink at four meets this season in honor of a Breast Cancer Awareness theme. As a team, its community service activities include volunteering at Bright Horizons Daycare, ARC Food Bank, Interact Shelter for Women, Spare Some for Autism, Ronald McDonald House, and delivering food and money to families for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Female Performance of the Year – Emily Weiman (Softball)
Emily Weiman retired the final 13 batters in the ACC Championship Game against Florida State to seal the Wolfpack’s 1-0 victory. Weiman pitched a complete game in the process, going all seven innings and allowing just four hits and two walks with five strikeouts.

Male Performance of the Year – Nick Gwiazdowski (Wrestling)
Nick Gwiazdowski won the NCAA Title at 285 pounds by defeating two-time defending Champion Tony Nelson of Minnesota in the finals.

ACC Male Scholar Athlete of the Year – Jorge Risquez (Men’s Soccer)
Jorge has a 3.702 GPA in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance and a minor in Accounting. He has been a member of the ACC Honor Roll for three years, recognized as a Caterpillar Scholar Athlete for three years, and named to the Dean’s list for five semesters.

Coach of the Year – Wes Moore (Women’s Basketball)
In his first season at the helm of the NC State women’s basketball program (2013-14), Wes Moore and his staff led the Wolfpack to the following accomplishments: a 25-8 record, a top-25 RPI, a fourth-place finish in the ACC despite preseason prediction of 10th, 11 straight weeks in the AP and USA Today polls, the program’s first AP top-10 ranking since 2001, four wins over AP top-20 teams, a 13-2 nonconference record, and a 14-2 record at home.

Wolfpack Unlimited Individual Award – T.J. Warren (Men’s Basketball)
T.J. Warren was nothing short of historic in 2013-14. An All-American and the ACC’s Player of the Year, Warren broke school records held by David Thompson and put his name among the ACC’s all-time greatest players. He led the ACC in scoring and field goal percentage, becoming just the third player in league history to do so in the same season. He also broke Rodney Monroe’s single-season record of games with 20+ points.

Wolfpack Unlimited Team Award – Women’s Basketball
The NC State women’s basketball team finished the 2013-14 sea¬son with a 25-8 record and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the 22nd time in school history. The Wolfpack finished fourth in the conference standings despite a preseason prediction of 10th and advanced to the semifinals of the ACC Tournament in Greensboro. In addition, the Pack defeated four AP top-20 teams and finished with a 14-2 mark at home.

Men’s Team of the Year – Baseball
The baseball program set a school record for wins (50) and advanced to the College World Series in 2013 for the first time in 45 years. The squad posted 30 victories throughout the season at Doak Field at Dail Park, including each of its five postseason contests at home. State was led by two All-Americans, including Carlos Rodon and Trea Turner, as well as 2013 ABCA Atlantic Region Coach of the Year Elliot Avent.

Women’s Team of the Year – Softball
In 2013, the NC State softball team accomplished what many would have considered to be a far-fetched goal at the beginning of the sea¬son winning the ACC Championship.

Under first-year head coach Shawn Rychcik, the squad flourished in nearly every offensive category. The Wolfpack set school records in runs scored, runs batted in and slugging percentage. The squad entered the ACC Championship on a nine-game winning streak and continued it with three wins in the tournament, highlighted by an upset win over the top-seeded Florida State Seminoles.

It was the program’s second ACC Championship crown and first since the 2006 season. Rychcik became the first head coach in the history of the ACC to win the championship title in his/her first season. With the ACC Championship win, the Pack automatically clinched a berth in the 2013 NCAA Tournament, making its first appearance there since 2007. State finished the year with a 35-20-1 record.

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NC State Basketball

NC State’s Mohamed Diarra Will Not Return to NC State for Final Season

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NC State Forward Mohamed Diarra will not be returning to NC State for his final season of eligibility. Rather, he will give 100% of his focus to pursuing his professional career.

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Diarra is declaring for the NBA Draft, and will explore that possibility as far as it goes, but the likelihood of him playing professionally in his home country of France are high.

Diarra was a significant player for NC State all season long, averaging 6.3 points and 7.8 rebounds (team high), but his impact in March was tremendous, recording 10+ rebounds in 7 of the Wolfpack’s 10 postseason games, and five of those performances were double-doubles.

Wolfpack fans will always remember the grit and mental toughness that Diarra put on display in the NCAA Tournament, playing game-after-game while fasting for Ramadan.

The Wolfpack’s frontcourt just got a little bit thinner. In the past two weeks, NC State has lost Diarra and Ernest Ross.  Ben Middlebrooks is returning, and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield transferred in from Louisville. Dontrez Styles transferred in from Georgetown, and while he is more of a Small Forward, in certain lineups, he could play the Small 4 position. With all that being said, I fully expect NC State to try to find another post player in the Transfer Portal with Diarra’s exodus now official.

With Diarra not returning in 2024, NC State now has 2 scholarships available for next season.

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Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James Commits to NC State!

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Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James (6’5″/200) has announced his commitment to NC State!

 

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This past year, James averaged 12.6 points per game (3rd on the team) and 5 rebounds. He’s extremely physical and aggressive, taking 47% of his field goal attempts at the rim (making 46%). As a result, he draws a lot of fouls, ranking 10th in the ACC in Fouls Drawn, and 4th in Free Throw Rate. James made opponents pay this year when they put him on the line, making 81.8% from the charity stripe, which ranked 15th in the ACC.

James shot the ball better as a Redshirt Freshman, than he did this past season. His Effective Field Goal Percentage in 2022-23 was 55.8%, which ranked 19th in the ACC, and his True Shooting Percentage of 59.6% ranked 14th.

News broke about James entering the Transfer Portal back on March 25th, and NC State was quick to reach out. Kevin Keatts and his staff recruited the former 4-star prospect out of high school heavily, but he ultimately chose the Cardinals.

After redshirting his first year in Louisville due to torn achilles, James has been a starter for the Cardinals the past two years.

He does have the ability to knock down a three, making 34.8% for his career.

James has 2 years of eligibility remaining. With James’ commitment, NC State currently has 1 scholarship available for next season.

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Bowling Green Transfer Guard Marcus Hill is on a Visit to NC State

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Bowling Green Transfer Guard Marcus Hill (6’4″/185) confirmed with me that he is currently on a visit at NC State.

Hill averaged 20.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game for the Falcons this season. He earned 1st Team All-MAC honors. Even though he was only at Bowling Green one season, he had one of the best seasons in school history, scoring 698 points, which ranks 5th all-time in program history for a single season.

For his first two years of collegiate ball, Hill played for Southern Union State College (JUCO) in Alabama. In 2022-23, Hill earned 3rd Team NJCAA All-American honors, and ranked as the #32 overall Junior College prospect.

247Sports ranks Hill as a 4-Star Transfer Prospect, and the #78 overall player in the Transfer Portal, and the #11 Shooting Guard.

According to a source, the NC State Coaching Staff is extremely high on Hill, and they are recruiting him as a Point Guard.

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What did an ACC Title & Final Four Mean to NC State Legend Dennis Smith Jr.?

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What did an ACC Title & Final Four mean to NC State Legend Dennis Smith Jr.? The man who won the ACC Rookie of the Year Award in 2017 gave me a statement.

It means a lot. It means a lot to the university, the state of North Carolina and a lot more to my dad, grandma, and myself. They have been NC State fans since forever, so their excitement level was though the roof when they saw BOTH of our basketball teams shining like that. It was a great feeling!

2017 was Smith Jr.’s only year of College ball, averaging 18.1 points, 6.2 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.9 steals. He earned 2nd Team All-ACC honors, and obviously, he earned a spot on the ACC All-Freshman Team.

DSJ was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks with the 9th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.

Smith Jr. just wrapped up his 7th season in the NBA. This was his 1st season with Brooklyn, playing in 56 games for the Nets. He averaged 6.6 points, 3.6 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game, averaging 18.9 minutes per contest.

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