The Wolfpack have 17 draft-eligible players from the 2025 squad, plus some incoming players to watch
Well look at that… the 2025 MLB Draft is this coming weekend, starting Sunday at 5:00pm and continuing on through Monday. Let’s see how this could potentially impact NC State’s 2026 roster.
Eligible players from 2025 roster: 17
- SS Justin DeCriscio (SR) – .289/.383/.500, 12 2B, 8 HR, 10.0 BB%, 9.5 K%, 2-3 SB
- RHP Carson Kelly (SR) – 1-0, 4.03 ERA, 22.1 IP, 12.0 BB%, 27.2 K%
- RHP Matt Willadsen (SR) – 0-0, 16.20 ERA, 8.1 IP, 13.7 BB%, 15.7 K%
- LHP Jacob Dienes* (rJR) – 0-0, INF ERA, 0.0 IP, 100.0 BB%, 0.0 K%
- RHP Landon Carr (JR) – 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.0 IP, 0.0 BB%, 0.0 K%
- RF Brayden Fraasman (JR) – .279/.329/.498, 12 2B, 11 HR, 6.8 BB%, 16.2 K%, 3-5 SB
- LHP Dominic Fritton (JR) – 5-6, 4.47 ERA, 86.2 IP, 10.0 BB%, 27.5 K%
- 2B/3B Matt Heavner* (JR) – .225/.307/.308, 1 2B, 3 HR, 8.5 BB%, 9.8 K%, 0-0 SB
- LF Josh Hogue (JR) – .327/.391/.562, 18 2B, 11 HR, 9.7 BB%, 13.7 K%, 4-6 SB
- RHP Julien Peissel (JR) – DNP (Tommy John Surgery)
- LHP Eli Pillsbury* (JR) – DNP (coaches decision)
- RHP Andrew Shaffner (JR) – 4-1, 7 SV, 3.13 ERA, 37.1 IP, 4.6 BB%, 25.5 K%
- RHP Derrick Smith* (JR) – 0-0, 6.00 ERA, 3.0 IP, 30.0 BB%, 40.0 K%
- RHP Shane Van Dam (JR) – 0-0, 4.50 ERA, 8.0 IP, 11.8 BB%, 11.8 K%
- C Drew Lanphere (rSO) – .217/.383/.289, 3 2B, 1 HR, 20.6 BB%, 12.1 K%, 0-0 SB
- RHP Heath Andrews (SO) – 4-3, 6.02 ERA, 64.1 IP, 7.5 BB%, 18.0 K%
- 1B Matt Ossenfort* (SO) – .240/.406/.340, 2 2B, 1 HR, 18.8 BB%, 17.2 K%, 0-0 SB
* in the transfer portal
Watching NC State in 2025, Dom Fritton was the player talked about the most in terms of the MLB Draft, but I actually think he’ll be the third player off the board for the Wolfpack. Fritton has a nice mid-90s fastball and an inconsistent breaking ball that at times can flash plus. He’s not a small guy, but his low release point and lack of a true third pitch likely has him looking at a reliever profile at the next level. Moving to a relief role will allow him to potentially get some added velo on the fastball and maybe a bit more bite on the breaker, but his two biggest issues at the collegiate level have been control and giving up the long ball. I see the questions around him dropping him past the 5th round, but he’s a lefty with some nice tools so he won’t last to the double-digit rounds.
The player from the 2025 Wolfpack I expect to hear his name called first is Shane Van Dam. His elbow injury in 2024 really hurt his development and cost him essentially all of the 2025 season, but he was rapidly moving up draft boards in 2024 before the injury and he came back with a very strong showing at the MLB Draft Combine. Van Dam had a strong showing there, and followed it up with a showing in the MLB Draft League vs Cape Cod League game sitting 93-to-95 with some good looking stuff. He’s still barely a year out from TJS and is a bit of a blank slate. The stuff and still relatively raw development is an enticing combo for an MLB club.
Andrew Shaffner is another arm that may have more upside following a very strong 2025 season for the Pack. After being criminally under utilized his first two years on campus, Shaffner stepped into a more prominent role this year for State, one the team desperately needed him to fill given Derrick Smith’s struggles with health and effectiveness this year. This projection is a bit like Evan Justice was a few years ago with opinions varying wildly. Unfortunately for Shaffner, he won’t get the round boost that Justice got by being a lefty, but I have a strong feeling there’s a team or two that is high on Shaffner after he did so well when finally getting his chance this year.
Justin DeCriscio showed that his contact skills were legit, keeping a strikeout rate below 10.0% despite moving up from facing WCC pitching to seeing ACC arms. The Pack shortstop also increased his walk rate to 10.0% after that was a relative issue for him at San Diego. This is a similar profile to Brandon Butterworth last year, with similar size, position, and hitting profiles. DeCriscio seems like more of a finished product than Butterworth was at this point a year ago, but he’s also a better fielder, so I’ll project that DeCriscio goes in the same round because that’s just too easy not to do.
If Josh Hogue was an average defender, his bat would carry him into the first ten rounds. That absolute lack of a defensive home likely will push him to the end of the draft. Perhaps that’s way too pessimistic of a view for a guy with his hitting prowess and size, but there’s no clear view on where you can stash him in the field other than using him as a DH or a righty first baseman. That’s a huge knock on the profile – and is a plus in his potential of returning to State for 2026.
Heath Andrews, Derrick Smith, and Brayden Fraasman are the only other players from this year’s team with a chance of getting drafted. Smith looked like a no-brainer after his 2024 performance that saw him pump mid-90s heat with an almost unhittable slider coupled in. Injuries derailed his Pack campaign this year and even though he’s pitching in the Cape Cod League this summer, control has been a major issue (10 BB, 3 HBP, 4 WP in 7.0 IP). Perhaps there’s a team that thinks they can fix him, but I’m doubtful. Andrews participated in the MLB Draft Combine, but he has far more to gain by returning to State for 2026 as a junior. Fraasman had some great moments for the Pack this year, but his season ended on a down note and he has some obvious holes in his swing.
Eligible incoming transfers: 2
- OF Devin Mitchell (SO, Florence-Darlington Tech) – .374/.477/.583, 27 2B, 4 HR, 12.6 BB%, 11.7 K%, 25-28 SB
- INF Wyatt Peifer (JR, James Madison) – .241/.313/.382, 10 2B, 6 HR, 7.5 BB%, 18.8 K%, 10-10 SB
Devin Mitchell entered 2025 ranked by Prep Baseball as the 40th ranked JUCO player in the country, and then followed that up with a monster year. I have a hard time believing his mix of size (6’1, 206), hitting ability, and speed go unnoticed by MLB clubs.
Wyatt Peifer’s glove would have likely put him on MLB draft boards this year had he followed up his 2024 season with another productive season at the dish in 2025, but that wasn’t the case. He’s a high-upside player but unlikely to get selected this year.
Incoming high school commits: 9
- 3B Quinn Bentley (Ashley HS, Wilmington, NC)
- C Vincent DeCarlo (Jesuit HS, Tampa, FL)
- RHP C.J. Gray (A.L. Brown HS, Kannapolis, NC)
- RHP Sam Harris (Broughton HS, Raleigh, NC)
- LHP Luke Hemric (Apex Friendship HS, Apex, NC)
- OF Everett Johnson (Eastern Carolina Academy, Youngsville, NC)
- RHP Aiden Kitchings (Rabun Gap-Nachoochee HS, Braselton, GA)
- RHP Michael Ragusa (Cardinal Gibbons HS, Coral Springs, FL)
- SS/3B Aidan West (Long Reach HS, Ellicott City, MD)
While State has had some draft classes of late with multiple high-end high school prospects, this year might have the most we’ve seen in the last few years. Quinn Bentley, Vincent DeCarlo, C.J. Gray, Aiden Kitchings, and Aidan West all have some level of draft intrigue around them.
Bentley is playing in the MLB Draft League and was selected to participate in the same showcase game that Van Dam played in between the MLB Draft League and the Cape Cod League. The 6’1, 210 lbs lefty hitter is a strong kid who has put together a solid summer in that league, maybe enough to get him drafted.
DeCarlo was recently ranked by Baseball America as the 20th best catching prospect in this year’s draft. Clearly that’s going to put him on the draft radar, but it may not put him in a high enough round where the signing bonus will meet what would be necessary to pull him away from State’s campus (he’s already on-campus, as is everyone except Bentley – and maybe Kitchings). DeCarlo still likely gets drafted, but likely late as an insurance policy in case the club that drafts him is unable to sign another high school player they select earlier and then can use that money to try and pry DeCarlo away from the Pack.
Gray is one of the two highest rated players in State’s incoming freshman class. MLB Pipeline has him listed at #178 while ESPN has him listed at #118. He has an electric arm on his 6’1, 193 lbs frame, touching 97 mph this spring and combining it with some nice secondary offerings. He was listed as a standout on Day 1 of the Draft Combine, likely boosting his stock. I could see him going in the 3rd round, although it all depends on his asking price. He could be another late draft option as an insurance policy by another club if he does have a high dollar demand.
Kitchings also participated in the MLB Draft Combine, but despite reports that he topped out at 97 mph with his fastball this spring, his combine results didn’t quite stack up to that. He’s big kid at 6’5, 250 lbs and the stuff is really good. I doubt he gets drafted unless it’s in a late round, but the fact that he was at the combine puts him on the draft radar.
The top rated player in State’s incoming freshman class is West. MLB Pipeline has him rated at #123, while ESPN has him at #97. He’s a well built 6’2, 205 while having excellent speed (6.5 second 60-yard dash), quick hands and a solid arm on the left side of the infield, and with a lightning quick bat that generates solid pop. That package certainly puts him in the 3rd round range. If, like West, his asking price is too high, West should still get selected as a late rounder as a team will look to throw a large signing bonus at him should they fail to sign their earlier picks.
Projected drafted players:
- Gray – 3rd round
- West – 3rd round
- Van Dam – 4th round
- Fritton – 7th round
- Shaffner – 8th round
- DeCriscio – 12th round
- Mitchell – 16th round
- Hogue – 20th round
- DeCarlo – 20th round