D1Baseball Ranks NC State’s Jacob Dudan as the #1 Relief Pitcher in their Top-100 Preseason Rankings

D1Baseball has just released their 2025 Preseason Top-100 Relief Pitchers, and NC State sophomore pitcher Jacob Dudan is sitting at the top of the list! To show just how devastating the Wolfpack’s bullpen is projected to be, junior Derrick Smith is ranked 7th.

1. Jacob Dudan, NC State
2. Cole Tryba, UC Santa Barbara
3. Matthew Matthijs, North Carolina
4. Brian Curley, Georgia
5. Gabe Davis, Oklahoma State
6. Miller Green, Vanderbilt
7. Derrick Smith, NC State
8. Tucker Biven, Louisville
9. Ruger Riojas, Texas
10. Gavin Guidry, LSU

Last year, Dudan earned 1st Team Freshman All-American honors from D1Baseball and 2nd Team honors from Baseball America. He also earned a spot on the 2024 All-ACC Freshman Team.

In 2024, Dudan had a 4-2 record, a 4.50 ERA, and 56 strikeouts in 48.0 innings. He held opposing batters to a .218 batting average and collected 6 saves on the year, which ranked 7th in the ACC. Dudan was not the Wolfpack’s primary closer last season; Derrick Smith was, tallying 8 saves, which ranked 3rd in the conference.

Dudan made 4 appearances in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, surrendering 4 earned runs over 7.2 innings and striking out 13. He held opposing batters to a .207 batting average.

Smith had a 3-2 record with a 4.55 ERA over 29.2 innings pitched. He limited opposing batters to a .181 batting average against him. Smith’s strikeout-to-walk ratio (K/BB) was 41:11.

In 4 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, Smith picked up 3 saves, recording an ERA of 2.45, while holding batters to a .130 batting average.

Sophomore Cooper Consiglio is ranked 47th in D1Baseball’s Top 100 rankings. Last season, Consiglio had a 5-4 record with a 4.97 ERA over 41.2 innings pitched as a freshman. Batters hit .200 against him. As the season progressed, Consiglio led all NC State pitchers with a 3.38 ERA in ACC play, holding batters to a .178 batting average.