Anderson Nance Becoming Crucial to Wolfpack’s 2026 Outlook

RALEIGH — The bullpen could be the part of NC State baseball that makes or breaks the 2026 season. With powerful junior right-hander Jacob Dudan moving into the starting rotation, the Wolfpack needed to find a new stopper for the later innings. Luckily for head coach Elliott Avent and pitching coach Clint Chrysler, they had one in the building already.

Sophomore righty Anderson Nance appears ready to take a major leap in his second year with the program, already having proven just how dynamic an option out of the bullpen he can be. The preseason recognition is raining down on Nance as well. Will he put it all together in 2026?

Building on a strong freshman season

BIG A!@AndersonNance8 has been named to the 2026 @NCBWA Stopper of the Year Preseason Watch List. An award given to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I Baseball.

📰: https://t.co/zyPUDlhtuO pic.twitter.com/48UtROTkJz
— NC State Baseball (@NCStateBaseball) February 10, 2026

Just as NC State prepared to make the trip to the Caribbean for the season-opening Puerto Rico Baseball Challenge, Nance received the news of his latest preseason accolade. He was named to the 2026 NCBWA Preseason Stopper of the Year Watch List, an award given to the best reliever in college baseball at the end of the season. This news came not long after he was named by D1Baseball as one of the top 20 relievers in the sport.

Nance put together a remarkable freshman year with the Pack, earning NCBWA Freshman All-American honors after finishing sixth in the ACC with 8 wins. The righty racked up 53 strikeouts over 54 innings of work in his first year with NC State, finishing with an ERA of 3.50. However, the expectations are higher now and Nance will need to improve even more.

NC State basebal — NC State Wolfpack's Dominic Fritton (51) is pulled early after giving runs in the first against the Stetson Hatters during the NCAA Baseball Regional Tournament at Plainsman Park in Auburn, Ala., on Friday May 30, 2025. | Mickey Welsh / Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The sophomore worked hard to improve his pitch mix during the offseason. He believes all of that work should help him in taking that all important next step in being the Wolfpack's shutdown arm out of the bullpen.

"I would say working on my fifth pitch, the cutter," Nance said. "I've just been trying to get something that's in the middle of my slider and my fastball, just to get something different in my arsenal and just throw hitters off a little bit more."

NC State freshman reliever Anderson Nance shoved (again) to secure a late-night comeback win at Cal:

5 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 7 K, 15 up, 15 down.

He has allowed just one hit with no walks and 12 strikeouts in his last 10 innings pitched.pic.twitter.com/w2vrvadD9V
— Noah Fleischman (@fleischman_noah) April 19, 2025

Nance knows the challenges that come with being a relief pitcher. That's what makes him uniquely equipped to be the leader of the bullpen, even without extensive collegiate experience.

"If you pitch good, you tend to pitch more, obviously," Nance said. "I think the more they used me, the more I felt like I could get the job done and how confident they were in me. I think the more I pitched, the more confidence came."

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