#13 NC State’s Midweek Loss to UNCW Could Have Costly Postseason Implications

UNCW defeated #13 NC State 6-3 in a midweek game at home last night, which could have costly implications for upcoming NCAA Tournament seeding.

Heading into the contest, the Wolfpack was surging in the RPI, sitting at #22. After the loss, NC State slid six spots to #28.

The Wolfpack is now 6-4 in midweek games, but those four losses are costly when it comes to their strength of schedule.

Midweek Games

Liberty (H) – 8-9 (L)
Richmond (H) – 1-5 (L)
UNCG (A) – 10-0 (W)
Campbell (H) – 11-1 (W)
North Carolina A&T (H) – 14-2 (W)
Davidson (A) – 13-0 (W)
USC Upstate (H) – 5-15 (L)
UNCG (H) – 9-6 (W)
ECU (A) – 4-1 (W)
UNCW (H) – 3-6 (L)

Three of NC State’s Midweek losses have been Quad 3 losses.

Quad 2 Loss

Liberty

Quad 3 Loss

Richmond
USC Upstate
UNCW

One of the Wolfpack’s struggles in midweek games has been Sophomore Cooper Consiglio’s inability to match his 2024 success. Last year, he posted a 4.97 ERA and held batters to a .200 average. To be honest, even that ERA was a bit deceiving—he actually led the Wolfpack in ERA during ACC games.

This season, though, it’s been a different story. Consiglio has a 9.47 ERA and is allowing opponents to hit .315.

NC State isn’t in danger of missing out on the 2025 NCAA Tournament, but prior to yesterday’s loss, they were on a trajectory to possibly host a Regional. I’m not saying the loss eliminates that possibility—but it sure didn’t help.