2026 NC State Baseball Preview – Part III: Who’s New

We’re less than 30 days out from the start of NC State’s 2026 baseball season, so now’s as good a time as any to get to know the team before they hit the diamond. The Wolfpack will be looking for their third trip to Omaha in the last six seasons, so let’s figure out how they’ll get there (keep your “on a plane” jokes at home where they belong). We’ll try and tackle this in a few parts:

• Part I looked back at the 2025 season and the players who are no longer with the program.
• Part II looked at the returnees from 2025’s Auburn Regional squad
• Part III will look at the newcomers, both transfers and freshmen
• Part IV will look at the non-conference opponents
• Part V will tackle the ACC slate facing the Pack

Let’s get to it!

Who’s New

NC State is breaking their streak of three straight years of exactly 20 newcomers as “only” 18 newcomers will join the Wolfpack this spring, but that likely has more to do with roster sizes being reduced down from 40 to 34 for the 2026 season. NC State will actually have a 35-man roster this spring, utilizing the “grandfather” rule for one player, although we don’t know who that player is – and likely won’t because that does not need to be disclosed.

Here’s the list of the 18 fresh faces for the Pack this spring, with an even split between transfers and freshmen:

• Dalton Bargo – SR – UTIL
• Quinn Bentley – FR – INF
• Collins Black – SO – RHP
• Vincent DeCarlo – FR – C
• Ryder Garino – SO – RHP
• Sam Harris – FR – RHP
• Danny Heintz – rSR – RHP
• Luke Hemric – FR – LHP
• Rett Johnson – FR – OF
• Sherman Johnson – rSO – INF
• Aiden Kitchings – FR – RHP
• Devin Mitchell – JR – OF
• Wyatt Peifer – SR – INF
• Mikey Ragusa – FR – RHP
• Mikey Ryan – SO – INF
• Christian Serrano – FR – INF
• Jacob Smith – FR – RHP
• Andrew Wiggins – JR – OF

Let’s discuss the transfers first as they’re the most likely to have an immediate impact.

Dalton Bargo will be at his third school in four years after starting his career at Missouri and then spending the last two years at Tennessee, batting .272/.366/.559, 14 2B, 14 HR, 11.0 BB%, 27.1 K%, 3-5 SB last year. That strikeout rate is really the weak point in his game, as the Nebraska native offers a power lefty bat with defensive flexibility, having played catcher, corner infield, and corner outfield in his collegiate career to date. His defensive skills aren’t as strong as others on the roster, but his bat will command time in the lineup, at least in the DH spot. It will be interesting to see if the 6’1, 196 pounder gets any time behind the dish with the Pack.

Sherman Johnson started his college career at Dallas Baptist, playing in just two games in 2024, before heading the JUCO route last year and hitting .319/.425/.569, 21 2B, 9 HR, 13.4 BB%, 14.9 K%, 21-14 SB at McLennan CC. Originally committed to Arkansas for this year, the 6’2, 196 lbs Georgia native flipped to the Pack and looks to have a lock on the starting 3B job heading into the season. Johnson played SS for McLennan on the team’s run to the 2025 JUCO World Series where he earned All-Tournament honors and won the Outstanding Defensive Player award. It’s a big jump from JUCO pitching to the ACC, so this is where the question mark will be for Johnson. He was mentioned as one of the “10 Under-the-Radar Transfer Hitters” in the ACC for this year by Monty Taylor.

James Madison transfer Wyatt Peifer has plenty of experience on the left side of the infield as a three-year starter for the Dukes. The 6’2, 195 lbs switch-hitter made 142 starts at JMU with the majority of those coming at third base. Peifer hit .268/.357/.412, 33 2B, 11 HR, 8.8 BB%, 19.2 K%, 20-24 SB over his three years with JMU, with 2024 being his standout year in the form of a .305/.409/.495, 19 2B, 5 HR, 11.1 BB%, 17.5 K%, 8-11 SB line for a Dukes squad that ended its season in the Raleigh Regional (he went 1-for-4 with a 2B and 2 K in JMU’s season-ending loss to NC State in the finale of that Regional). Last year he hit .241/.313/.382, 10 2B, 6 HR, 7.5 BB%, 18.8 K%, 10-10 SB. Peifer’s bat may not have the upside of Sherman Johnson’s, but he’s a great defensive player with plenty of starting experience and should be a solid backup option should the need arise in the infield.

Mikey Ryan is the final infield transfer and looks to have the inside track at the starting shortstop job heading into the season. The 6’0, 195 lbs LSU transfer and Louisiana native was a Top 200 prospect in the 2024 MLB Draft coming out of high school but chose to head to college. His playing time last year for the national champion Tigers was limited, with his role mainly as a late-game defensive substitution. That should tell you plenty about his competency with the glove. Ryan has amazing speed and is a terrific athlete, as evidenced by his 33 stolen bases in 30 games in the Northwoods League last summer (he hit .231/.462/.341, 5 2B, 1 HR, 25.0 BB%, 22.0 K%, 33-37 SB overall). The question is going to be whether or not the bat can play enough, but that also underscores why adding Peifer was such a big move.

Like Sherman Johnson, Devin Mitchell also enters Raleigh via the JUCO route, with the Oklahoma native having played two years at Florence-Darlington CC. The 6’1, 205 lbs righty hit .374/.477/.583, 27 2B, 4 HR, 12.6 BB%, 11.7 K%, 25-28 SB last year in also leading his team to the JUCO World Series. Ty Head and Brayden Fraasman already have two outfield spots locked down for this year, so Mitchell will compete for the one open spot, with the possibility of contributing as DH. Mitchell, as well as Johnson, were named to the “All ACC Non-D1 Transfer Team” by Monty Taylor.

The other outfield transfer is Andrew Wiggins, who comes to Raleigh after two seasons at Indiana where he played in 79 games, making 51 starts. Over those two years, he hit .271/.457/.452, 11 2B, 7 HR, 20.3 BB%, 19.5 K%, 7-9 SB. In 2025, he hit .256/.454/.414, 7 2B, 4 HR, 20.8 BB%, 19.7 K%, 7-9 SB. He spent this last summer in the Cape Cod League, batting .255/.426/.353, 2 2B, 1 HR, 23.2 BB%, 29.0 K%, 2-3 SB. A 6’4, 225 lbs lefty hitter, Wiggins is a former Top 50 high school recruit who was the Hoosiers’ primary right fielder and leadoff hitter last year. He has the skills to have a breakout year and shoot up draft boards, but will first need to win the open left field job.

While the Wolfpack primarily focused on rebuilding the lineup through the transfer portal, they did add a trio of high-upside pitchers via that same route.

Collins Black will continue his tour of The Triangle, heading to Raleigh after spending his freshman year in Durham at Duke and playing his high school ball in Cary. The 6’2, 215 lbs righty had a rough debut at the college level (0.2 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 0 K). From that point on, he had scoreless efforts in 7 of his last 8 outings with a line of 0-0, 3.12 ERA, 8.2 IP, 11.4 BB%, 51.4 K%. Black tossed a single inning of hitless, scoreless ball with no walks and two strikeouts against NC State on March 29th in Durham. A fastball-slider guy, Black can run the heater up to the mid-90’s and his slider has some hard bite. If control can be attained, he’ll pair with Anderson Nance as a high-leverage arm for the Pack. He was named one of the “10 Under-the-Radar Transfer Pitchers” in the ACC.

New Jersey native Ryder Garino comes to the Wolfpack after spending his freshman year at South Carolina, going 2-0, 5.84 ERA, 24.2 IP, 12.3 BB%, 32.1 K% for the Gamecocks as a freshman in 2025. Despite that solid K%, Garino is a bit more of a development project with a 6’5, 195 lbs frame that has the potential of adding some serious velo to his fastball that sat in the upper-80’s/low-90’s last year. He pairs that with a slider and changeup. The three-pitch mix has the potential to be a starters profile in the future, but like Black, that’s dependent on improvement of his control.

Danny Heintz, a Green Hope HS graduate, is coming home after a redshirt year at Alabama that followed a four-year run at Penn. The 6’6, 235 lbs righty appeared in four games in 2021 for the Quakers (that season was shortened by the Ivy League due to covid concerns), and then made 17 appearances in 2022. Heintz made one appearance in 2023 before losing the rest of the campaign to Tommy John Surgery. He came back in April 2024 and made eight appearances before the end of the season. For his Penn career, Heintz posted a line of 2-2, 7.45 ERA, 38.2 IP, 16.4 BB%, 29.1 K%. He played this past summer in the MLB Draft League (oddly enough on the same team as former Wolfpacker Chase Nixon), going 1-0, 2.70 ERA, 6.2 IP, 10.7 BB%, 25.0 K%. Unfortunately, he missed the fall due to a minor medical procedure but will be ready to go by the start of the season. Heintz is a fastball-slider reliever, with his heater sitting in the low-to-mid 90’s. He could be a steal of a transfer if things click.

Now on to the nine-man freshman class that consists of a catcher, two infielders, one outfielder, four RHPs, and one LHP. We’ll cover them in that order.

Vincent DeCarlo arrives in Raleigh from the same Jesuit HS program in Tampa, FL, that produced RHP Aden Knowles, a freshman on last year’s State squad who is now at Towson. DeCarlo steps into an excellent opportunity for playing time as Alex Sosa transferred to Miami and the only other catchers on the roster are career backup rJR Drew Lanphere and rFR Preston Bonn. That’s not to say DeCarlo will have an easy path to a starting gig; as mentioned in Part II of this series, Lanphere has quite a bit of experience and his underlying numbers say that he’s a prime candidate for a breakout season. While Lanphere should have the inside track at the starting backstop role, DeCarlo is a highly regarded recruit. He was ranked by Baseball America as the 20th best catching prospect in the 2025 draft, but thankfully went undrafted. He’s a stocky 6’0, 190 lbs righty with more athleticism than his build would indicate, while providing the exact type of power you’d expect. He’s an above average defender with plenty of arm strength to stay behind the dish. He’ll be a draft-eligible sophomore in 2027.

Quinn Bentley is a 6’2, 194 lbs lefty-hitting infielder from Ashley HS in Wilmington. No, he’s not related to Trey Bentley, the OF from last year’s team who transferred to USC Upstate. Bentley is a super athletic former three-sport athlete in high school who played this past summer in the MLB Draft League (.277/.455/.319, 2 2B, 0 HR, 19.4 BB%, 28.4 K%, 5-5 SB) and was selected to participate in the MLB Draft League vs Cape Cod League showcase game. That’s a really solid showing from a high schooler, especially one who wasn’t even a Top 500 national recruit. Bentley primarily played 3B in the MLB Draft League and that’s his likely defensive home of the future, although he did also play 1B and 2B this past summer and played SS in high school, plus he has the athleticism and arm strength to play OF. His role in this year’s team is most likely as a reserve, but he has big potential. Like DeCarlo, he’ll be a draft-eligible sophomore in 2027.

Christian Serrano followed his big brother Eli’s path in heading to NC State, although he did so in a rather unconventional manner, reclassifying from the freshman class of 2027 to the freshman class of 2026 to enroll from the spring semester this year. Serrano would have been a draft-eligible sophomore in 2028, so moving up doesn’t necessarily impact his draft prospects, especially if he was planning on going to college regardless. If anything, the extra semester of college experience will benefit him for that 2028 draft, although his impact on this year’s team will most likely be minimal. With a 6’4, 185 lbs frame, there’s a lot of projection in what he brings, just like we saw with Eli. Temper expectations, but Christian is more physically tooled at this point of his career than Eli was, with a stronger arm and more bat speed, but not as polished as a hitter. Like his brother, he could end up playing centerfield down the line, but unlike his brother, he throws righty which will give him the opportunity to play anywhere on the field.

The lone outfielder of the freshman class and the smallest player on this year’s roster, Rett Johnson has made the biggest impact of the freshman position players since arriving on campus in the fall. The 5’9, 170 lbs lefty hitter has the profile of a natural leadoff man, so it’ll be interesting to see – assuming he opens the season as the team’s starting left fielder, as it appears he has the inside track to do right now – if he’s thrust immediately into that role or if the team relies on Ty Head or Luke Nixon while Johnson gets his feet wet. It’s a testament to Johnson’s potential that he’s trending towards a starting role out of the gate considering he’s going up against Bargo, Mitchell, and Wiggins. Johnson was named to the ACC’s “10 Early Impact Freshmen” by Monty Taylor, while also being ranked 8th among D1 Baseball’s list of ACC Impact Freshmen.

Now onto the freshman arms for the Pack this spring, with an admitted uphill battle for innings for these guys based on the combination of established arms and transfer pitchers the Wolfpack has on the roster. If there are any starts for these guys, it’ll likely come in a midweek role.

Sam Harris will make the less than two mile trip from Broughton High’s baseball field to Doak Field at Dail Park this year. The 6’0, 180 lbs righty was the 2024 NCHSAA 4A Pitcher of the Year. He’ll be more of a project arm as he works to add velocity to his high-80’s fastball, but his slider is his best pitch and will give him a chance to earn some opportunities early as the pitch can be hard on righties.

On a team with just four lefty arms – and only three of those in a relief role (potentially two if Cooper Consiglio mans the midweek starter role) – Luke Hemric has a solid opportunity to see the mound as a true freshman. While he didn’t play his high school ball as close as Harris, Hemric is also a local kid from right down the road, hailing from Apex and playing prep ball at Apex Friendship HS. The 6’2, 190 lbs southpaw earned high praise for his showing in the fall and features a three-pitch mix consisting of a low-90’s fastball, a changeup, and a breaking ball. His ability to pound the zone with all three pitches could see him getting more than just a few innings.

Aiden Kitchings is the son of former NC State Football assistant coach Des Kitchings, and he’s built like a defensive end at 6’5, 250 lbs. The frame obviously screams future development from a velo prospective as he’s currently a low-90’s guy who can touch the mid-90’s, with some nice arm-side run. The Georgia native and former Missouri commit compliments the heater with a changeup, a curve ball, and a slider, with the ability to control all four pitches. If the control translates to the ACC level, Kitchings is an obvious choice to be a starter in the future, but more importantly – and immediately – it will give him an opportunity to contribute on this year’s squad.

Mikey Ragusa – yeah, there’s two new dudes named Mikey – is a 6’1, 175 lbs righty who was a Top 300 recruit nationally in last year’s high school class. He attended Cardinal Gibbons HS… err… the one in Coral Springs, FL. Ragusa sits in the low 90’s with his fastball and has hit as high as 95 in the past, although he’ll have some work to sit there continually. The arsenal also features a cutter, sweeper, and a changeup. Ragusa garnered some praise from the coaches for his fall performance, so we’ll see where that lands him on this year’s staff. The projection is really good, though, especially with some added muscle to the frame.

A two-sport star from Reagan HS in Winston-Salem, Jacob Smith will continue to play both football and baseball at NC State. The 6’1, 211 lbs athlete will also partake in spring ball for the Wolfpack football team where he will work behind CJ Bailey in the team’s quarterback room. As is the case with most guys who have the skills to play baseball at the D1 level, he was a two-way star on the diamond in high school, also featuring as the team’s shortstop. This will likely be a developmental year for him as he works on refining his pitches and becoming more consistent with his mechanics, as well adjusting to the demands of a two-sport collegiate athlete. Smith is a player worth watching because if things click, he could take off.