Former Wolfpack Star Trea Turner Leads
NC College Products In MLB Postseason
(Also: Campbell, Duke, ECU, UNCW)

By David Glenn

North Carolina Sports Network

Amidst the exciting backdrop of Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon’s 2023 declaration regarding his desire and efforts to bring a Major League Baseball expansion franchise to Raleigh, professional baseball fans can spend the rest of October enjoying a wide variety of North Carolina high school and college products now competing in the MLB playoffs.

Perhaps the most famous example is former NC State shortstop Trea Turner, who is now in the second season of his 11-year, $300 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Turner, 31, is in his 10th year at the MLB level and also has represented Team USA in international competition. He helped the Washington Nationals to the World Series title in 2019, and more recently he has been an All-MLB honoree (2021, 2022) and an All-Star Game selection (2021, 2022, 2024). He also has led the National League in batting average once (2021) and in stolen bases twice (2018, 2021).

The 13th overall pick in the 2014 MLB amateur draft, Turner played three seasons (2012-14) for long-time Wolfpack baseball coach Elliott Avent at NC State, posting a school-record 57 stolen bases as a freshman and earning All-ACC honors all three years. The Pack posted one of the best seasons in program history during Turner’s time in Raleigh, finishing 50-16 and advancing to the College World Series in 2013.

When Turner helped the Nationals to the 2019 MLB championship, he became just the fourth Wolfpack baseball product to earn a World Series ring, joining second baseman Jimmy Brown (1942 St. Louis Cardinals), relief pitcher Tim Stoddard (1983 Baltimore Orioles) and third baseman Tracy Woodson (1988 Dodgers). The 6-foot-7 Stoddard, who helped the Wolfpack to three straight ACC baseball titles from 1973-75, also was a key member of the Pack’s 1974 NCAA championship basketball team under coach Norm Sloan.


Turner has remained close to NC State in the decade since his jump to professional baseball. Last year, he and his wife Kristen, a former Wolfpack gymnast, made a $1 million pledge to the university’s athletic program that will benefit both the baseball and gymnastics teams.

“We couldn’t have enjoyed our time at NC State more and are very proud to say we are Wolfpack alumni,” Turner said. “Kristen and I are humbled and honored to be able to give back and make a difference for the university.”

There are 18 Division One baseball programs in North Carolina, and five of them are represented in this year’s baseball playoffs: Campbell (one player), Duke (one), East Carolina (one), NC State (two) and UNC Wilmington (one). Please see below for the entire postseason list.

From the North Carolina high school (but not college) ranks, the most prominent player in last year’s MLB playoffs was Texas shortstop Corey Seager, who ultimately led the Rangers to the 2023 World Series title as the championship series’ Most Valuable Player.

Seager starred at Northwest Cabarrus High School in Kannapolis before jumping straight into professional baseball. The 18th overall selection in the 2012 MLB draft, Seager first became a World Series champion and World Series MVP in 2020, while with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He’s also a five-time MLB All-Star, including this year, his second with the Rangers after signing a 10-year, $325 million contract in 2022.

In addition to that of Turner, two of the most prominent North Carolina-based MLB playoff stories to follow this year are those of Los Angeles Dodgers closer Evan Phillips and New York Yankees starting pitcher Carlos Rodon. The Dodgers and Yankees are considered among the favorites to win the World Series this year, and both Phillips and Rodon are playing very important roles.

Phillips, 30, played for Clayton High School and UNC Wilmington. A 17th-pound draft pick of Atlanta in 2015, he made his MLB debut in 2018 with the Braves. A waiver-wire pickup by Los Angeles in 2021, he gradually has worked his way into the team’s closer role and has led the Dodgers in saves in each of the past two seasons.

The Dodgers had MLB’s best record (98-64) during the regular season, when Phillips converted 18 saves in 22 opportunities. LA and San Diego are tied 1-1 in the teams’ NL Divisional Series, which resumes Tuesday (8 pm, FS1) at Petco Park.

Rodon, 31, played for Holly Springs High School and nearby NC State. A first-round pick (#3 overall) of the Chicago White Sox in 2014, he made his MLB debut in 2015 and later represented the White Sox (2021) and San Francisco (2022) in the MLB All-Star Game. Rodon signed a six-year, $162 million contract with the Yankees as a free agent before the 2023 season.

After starting 32 games for the Yankees during the 2024 regular season (16-9, 3.96 ERA), Rodon is scheduled to start Game 2 of the team’s AL Divisional Series against Kansas City on Monday (7:38 pm, TBS/truTV/Max) at Yankee Stadium. New York, which had the AL’s best record (94-68) during the regular season, leads the series 1-0.

2024 MLB Playoff Participants
(NC Division One Programs)

Campbell (1)

x-Cedric Mullins, CF, Baltimore

Duke (1)

Marcus Stroman, P, NY Yankees

East Carolina (1)

Jeff Hoffman, P, Philadelphia

NC State (2)

Carlos Rodon*, P, NY Yankees
Trea Turner, SS, Philadelphia

UNC Wilmington (1)

Evan Phillips*, P, LA Dodgers
*-also listed below (both high school and college in NC)

NOTE: North Carolina’s other D1 baseball programs are at Appalachian State, Charlotte, Davidson, Elon, Gardner-Webb, High Point, North Carolina, North Carolina A&T, Queens, UNC Asheville, UNC Greensboro, Wake Forest and Western Carolina.

2024 MLB Playoff Participants
(North Carolina High Schools)

Evan Phillips, P, LA Dodgers (Clayton HS, Clayton)
Carlos Rodon, P, NY Yankees (Holly Springs HS, Holly Springs)
x-Bryse Wilson, P, Milwaukee, (Orange HS, Hillsborough)
Weston Wilson, INF/OF, Philadelphia (Wesleyan Christian Academy, High Point)
x-team has been eliminated from 2024 MLB postseason

BELOW: NC State basketball legend Chris Corchiani is a life-long fan of the Philadelphia Phillies, a close friend of Avent and Turner, and a huge supporter of Wolfpack athletics. We discussed Turner and the Phillies during Corchiani’s 2023 appearance on the David Glenn Show, which he joined while visiting Avent at NC State.