A tough school year has come to an end for N.C. State athletics.
A trip to the controversial 2021 College World Series left State with 13 eligible players due to COVID protocols and cost the Wolfpack a chance to win its fourth national championship of any kind in school history. That was only the beginning heading for a new school year.
Their other marquee programs went from a shocking end to an otherwise great football season, to fielding a terrible men’s basketball team, to a truly unfair pairing for its nationally-ranked women hoopsters, to a snub from the 2022 NCAA baseball tourney.
Such a royal straight flush doesn’t happen to most college programs in a decade, but it did to State in less than 12 months.
With Carolina’s poor execution all over the field, State ended a 9-3 football regular season with that miraculous comeback win in the final minutes over the Tar Heels. The Pack then had a chance to post the school’s first 10-win football record in 20 years.
With a trip to San Diego for the high-profile Holiday Bowl against UCLA, State was left at the gridiron alter when the Bruins got on the bus and returned to LA the morning of the game due to concerns for their health and safety from the COVID pandemic. State took the Holiday Bowl trophy by default back to Raleigh.
Men’s basketball under fifth-year coach Kevin Keatts was picked to finish ninth in the ACC and did even worse with a 4-16 record for last place and first-round loss in the ACC tournament.
The Pack’s ranked women won the ACC regular season and tournament and got screwed as the No. 1 seed in the East Regional in Hartford, where it lost to perennial power and No. 2 UConn before a wildly partisan crowd.
Then came a new baseball season with State hoping to recreate its magic of last spring and make another run toward Omaha and the College World Series.
After sweeping Florida State on the last weekend of the regular season, hot Carolina then beat N.C. State for the seventh straight time in the ACC Tournament, pounding the Pack for the championship at the Triple-A ballpark in Charlotte.
That loss cost State an invitation back to the NCAA playoffs, leaving the school feeling hurt and angry all over again.
Featured image via Associated Press/Chris Carlson
Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our biweekly newsletter.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe:
Related Stories
‹
Shooting Near W. Franklin Street Injures 1; Chapel Hill Police Arrest SuspectThe Chapel Hill Police Department is investigating a shooting along West Franklin Street Thursday evening which sent one person to the hospital.
Chapel Hill Police: Suspect Charged in Overnight Shooting That Killed 1The Chapel Hill Police Department is investigating a fatal shooting from the early morning hours of Wednesday that killed one person.
UNC Confirms Student Death in Residence Hall 1 Week Before Classes EndedWhile the UNC campus community is celebrating its last day of classes on Friday, details are emerging of a tragedy that took place one week before. A student death was reported in Thomas Ruffin Jr. Residence Hall on the morning of Friday, April 21, according to UNC Police’s crime log. WRAL first reported the student […]
INSIDE CAROLINA LIVE 2/18/23 - State Game and Jawad Williams!Tommy Ashley and Joey Powell host Inside Carolina Live ahead of the critical game for the Heels against NC State on Sunday. Jawad Williams joins the show for hour 2. You can watch this week's episode on YouTube here or listen to the radio broadcast via the player below.
Chapel Hill Police Identify, Charge Suspect in Chapel Ridge ShootingThe Chapel Hill Police Department shared Thursday that it identified and charged a suspect in a murder outside of a student-filled apartment complex in January. A release from the department on Thursday afternoon said earlier in the day, officers charged 23-year-old Asim Salah McKenzie with second degree-murder in the shooting of Marcus Anthony Smith on January […]
Carrboro Resident, 2 Juveniles Arrested in Connection to Chapel Hill MurderThe Chapel Hill Police Department announced a trio of arrests related to a murder at the South Estes Drive housing complex earlier this month. A release on Friday afternoon said the investigation into the death of K’son Lamoriquia Thorpe resulted in charges against Sarod Folly, a 20-year-old Carrboro resident, and two juvenile suspects. A spokesperson […]
Chapel Hill Police Open Homicide Investigation After Shooting in Housing CommunityThe Chapel Hill Police Department is opening an investigation into a death in a housing community off South Estes Drive on Monday night, with it believed to be homicide. A release from the department said officers arrived to the 300 block of South Estes Drive Extension – home to a public housing community owned by […]
Chapel Hill Police Investigating Highway 54 Shooting; 1 InjuredGunfire from one vehicle toward another along North Carolina Highway 54 in Chapel Hill injured one passenger on Monday night, according to a preliminary police investigation. A release from the Chapel Hill Police Department said that at around 5 p.m. in the 1100 block of the highway — which includes a pair of apartment complexes […]
Chapel Hill Police: Shooting at University Gardens Kills 1, Injures 3The Chapel Hill Police Department is investigating a fatal shooting at an apartment complex Tuesday evening. A release from the town after 9 p.m. confirmed the incident, which took place in the 800 block of Pritchard Avenue Extension around 6:15 p.m., killed one person. Chapel Hill Police are treating the death of 51-year-old resident Michael […]
Chansky's Notebook: State's Royal FlushA tough school year has come to an end for N.C. State athletics. A trip to the controversial 2021 College World Series left State with 13 eligible players due to COVID protocols and cost the Wolfpack a chance to win its fourth national championship of any kind in school history. That was only the beginning […]
›
