Last night NC State Guard Madison Hayes was honored on Senior Night, but she also announced that she would be returning in 2024-25 for her final year of eligibility. She was honored alongside Center River Baldwin and Forward Mimi Collins, who are both out of eligibility after this season.
Hayes is in the midst of a breakout season this year, averaging 11.7 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, which are both career highs. She ranks 3rd on the team in scoring, behind the other two Guards in the starting lineup, Aziaha James and Saniya Rivers, who will also be back in 2024-25. Even though she is a Guard, Hayes leads the Wolfpack in rebounding. Her 44.1% Field Goal Percentage is the best of any of the Wolfpack Guards, and her Three Point Percentage of 41.7% is the best on the squad.
As a Senior in high school, Hayes was named a McDonald’s All-American in 2020, and she earned a spot on the All SEC Freshman team in 2021 as a member of Mississippi St. In 2021-22, she transferred to NC State, and played in 26 games off the bench, but earned a spot in the starting lineup last season.
Big news for the Wolfpack Women’s Basketball program!
Today was the final day graduate players could enter the Portal.
This past season, O’Connell averaged 5.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists for the Wolfpack, starting 22 of the 41 games he played in.
O’Connell took over as NC State’s starting Point Guard on January 30th in a win against Miami.
He only scored in double figures in 9 of his 41 games this season, but 6 of those came in postseason play (5 in the ACC Tournament). O’Connell took things to another level in the ACC Tournament, playing aggressive on the offensive end, looking for his shot, and attacking the rim.
NC State played it’s best basketball of the season when O’Connell was running the show. He ranked 3rd in the ACC in Assist/Turnover Ratio (2.5).
Heading into next season, with a lineup filled with new faces, having the calming presence of a veteran leader like O’Connell is reassuring.
ECU Transfer Power Forward Ezra Ausar (6’9″/240) was on an Official Visit to NC State yesterday, and according to analysts at ON3 and 247Sports, things are trending in the right direction for the Wolfpack.
Jamie Shaw of ON3 submitted a prediction for Ausar to eventually commit to NC State yesterday morning.
Cory Smith of 247Sports submitted a crystal ball projection for Ausar to run with the Wolfpack this morning.
Ausar just wrapped up his Sophomore season in Greenville, averaging 11.4 points and 4.7 rebounds, shooting 51.4% from the field. As a Freshman, he was named to the AAC All-Freshman Team, averaging 9.8 points and 5.3 rebounds.
Ausar is a consensus 4-Star prospect in the Transfer Portal, and ON3 ranks him as the #60 overall player in the Portal and the #10 Power Forward.
Originally from Atlanta, Ausar played his Senior Season of High School at Liberty Heights Athletic Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina. ON3 ranked Ausar as a 4-Star prospect coming out of high school, the #94 overall player nationally, and the #2 player in the state of North Carolina.
Ausar has visited Seton Hall, Georgia Tech, met over Zoom with Georgetown, and had an in-home visit with Utah. John Calipari and his staff at Arkansas have been in touch with Ausar, as well as Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Virginia Tech, Arizona State, West Virginia, Iowa State and St. John’s. (Link)
At this point, it’s good news that Ausar has no visits scheduled after the visit to NC State.
Ausar has 2 years of eligibility remaining, and NC State currently has 1 scholarship remaining.
NC State Head Coach Kevin Keatts and the beloved DJ Burns were both Siren Sounders for the Canes this evening, with Carolina defeating the Islanders 6-3, winning the Round 1 series 4-1.
Me: Were you nervous?
Kevin Keatts: No! I just won nine elimination games in the NCAA Tournament!
Moore needs to start thinking about getting more bigs on the team or suffer the consequences as KK.