NC State ranks in Top-5 for ’26 MLB salary totals by school. Which Pack players are making big bucks in the pros?

Which school should you go to if you want to become a highly paid MLB superstar?

According to the ‘2026 MLB salaries by school’ list, NC State would be a fine choice.

The Wolfpack ranks 4th behind LSU, Vanderbilt, and Fresno State.

2026 MLB Salary Totals by School || #CollegeBaseball #MLB pic.twitter.com/abiN9STalt

— College Baseball Reference (@CBsBReference) March 20, 2026

Let’s dive in for a second to see which players are propping up each school. We’ll start with LSU.

LSU: You’d expect super-star Paul Skenes to be anchoring LSU, but nope. His pre-arbitration deal is just $850K+, which is insane with the type of production he’s giving them. But hey, that’s why small-market MLB teams like to milk as much as they can out of their young talent. Instead it’s a mix of other stars who are in the prime of their career, including Alex Bregman (35M) Aaron Nola (24.6M) and Kevin Gausman (23M).

Vandy: This list is big, but the star power is not as great (kind of filled with overpaid players). Sonny Gray, Dansby Swanson, Walker Buehler, Bryan Reynolds, Mike Yastrzemski, Kyle Wright, and rookie pitcher Kumar Rocker are the highest earners for Vanderbilt.

Fresno State: Well, they’re on this list because they have arguably the best player in Major League Baseball, Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees. Judge will make over $40 million himself in 2026 alone.

NC State: As for the Wolfpack, they are here becasue of two of MLB’s big stars in big markets. Carlos Rodon and Trea Turner. Rodon is with the Yankees and will make $28M this year, while Trea Turner of the Phillies will make a little over $27M. Rounding out the list is Patrick Bailey of the SF Giants will bring in just over $2M this season.