BASEBALL PREVIEW | SHORTSTOP: Newcomer Justin Decriscio brings experience, defense and another .300 hitter to the Pack

SHORTSTOP PREVIEW

With SS Brandon Butterworth gone, drafted 360th overall by the San Diego Padres, NC State has a gap at shortstop, one of the most important positions on the diamond.

Butterworth started in all 61 games last season, and all of them were at SS. He batted 5th most of the season, but slotted in the leadoff spot a times as well. At the plate, he batted .250 with 7 homers and 33 RBIs. He also had 13 stolen bases (only getting caught once.)

Butterworth’s bat was decent, but it was his glove that NC State will miss the most. His .949 fielding percentage was great. With 71 putouts and 133 assist, turning 26 double plays.

PROJECTED STARTER @ SS
Justin Decriscio | 5’10, 160lbs | Senior
Decriscio comes to NC State via transfer from San Diego, where he started all 49 of their games last season.

Looking at the numbers, he appears to be a slight upgrade over Butterworth in most categories, hitting .308 last season with 3 homers, 14 walks and 42 RBIs. He stole 10 bases and held a .954 fielding percentage.

In fact, Decriscio was named a Top-50 SS by D1 Baseball (coming in at #45).

Putting on a show at short!

Coming in at No. 45 in @d1baseball Preseason Shortstops rankings is @DecriscioJustin. pic.twitter.com/pbXRyl8y7I

— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) February 4, 2025

However, Decriscio isn’t going to be a guy to provide much pop for NC State, so I’d look for him to bat further down the lineup initially seeing as he only walked 14 times in 49 games last season, but he only struck out 18 times. He’s not going to be a high OBP (On-base percentage) guy for the Pack, but he’s also going to be a guy who puts the ball in play a lot.

He’s had a consistent bat through college. He hit .322 as a sophomore and was All-WCC Honorable Mention. Again he only hit 3 HRs that season as well.

It’s likely with Decriscio’s experience, his strong glove, and consistently high average, that he’ll be the starting SS when NC State opens things up on Feb. 14th.

OTHER SS OPTIONS
Ryder Woodson | 6’2, 182lbs | Freshman
Woodson is a true freshman who wasn’t all that highly ranked. He was the 39th-best SS in Florida, coming out of high school, but it looks like the coaches believe this kid has great size at the position and can grow into that frame. As a true freshman without much hype, he’ll start behind Decriscio and try to make the most of his chances (if he doesn’t redshirt).

Treton Lyons | 6’3, 186lbs | Sophomore
Lyons is coming over to NC State from Ole Miss and honestly I wasn’t even going to mention him here, because it looks certain that NC State has plans for him in the OF. But he did play some SS in summer league, so it’s possible NC State wants to prep him in case something happens with Decriscio and Woodson isn’t ready. We’ll talk more about Lyons in our OF preview, bu the’s a big kid who hit pretty well in his freshman season. He was a Top-200 recruit out of HS, so he had a little hype to him. He also played some catcher, so he’s really going to be a nice utility guy for Avent this season.