Elliott Avent, NC State baseball coach for 30 years, retiring from ‘dream job’ at season’s end

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — The 30-year veteran coach of North Carolina State University Men’s Baseball has announced he will retire at the end of this season, the university announced Thursday.

Read more WNBA faces an odd statistic. Home teams have only won 29% of games

Elliott Avent has notched 1,103 victories — more than any coach in school history, and also ranked among the most successful in the sport, N.C. State officials said in a news release.

Avent, a Nash County native, said he landed his “dream job” when he was hired by the Wolfpack back in 1996.

He has led the Wolfpack to the NCAA Tournament in 22 of 29 seasons, and his N.C. State teams advanced to the College World Series three times — in 2013, 2021, and 2024.

“Not many people get the chance to do what they love at a place that means so much to them,” Avent in the news release. “I’ve been lucky enough to have that opportunity and I’ve loved every minute of it.”

Avent is remembered for his resilience after the 2021 World Series, which was marred by COVID.

The Wolfpack was one win away from heading off to the College World Series finals when State was bounced from the event due to COVID-19 protocols.

Read more Cooler Friday with rain chances through Memorial Day weekend in central NC

“I never put anything behind me,” Avent said then. “That’s a long way from being behind me, trust me. One year really doesn’t factor into the other.”

Avent captured both ACC and National Coach of the Year honors in 2003 and was named USA Baseball’s College Coach of the Year in 2021.

“Coach Avent will forever be a part of the rich fabric of NC State Athletics, having been at the heart of NC State’s baseball program for 30 years,” N.C. State Chancellor Kevin Howell said in the release. “We are incredibly grateful for his decades of commitment to coaching and mentoring our student-athletes.”

In 2026, he became just the third active coach in college baseball to post 1,300 career wins and just the 24th Division I coach ever to cross that threshold.

He was honored by North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine Award for significant contributions to the state. The new baseball clubhouse at Doak Field was recently named the Elliott Avent Clubhouse in his honor.

Read more Katherine Legge is ready make historic attempt to try and complete racing’s 1,100-mile ‘double’