Dalton Bargo Proving To Be Everything Wolfpack Hoped For
RALEIGH — When NC State head coach Elliott Avent added Dalton Bargo out of the transfer portal from Tennessee, he knew his team gained a major new cog in what looked to be one of the stronger offenses in the ACC. After just four games, Bargo has proven that to be the case, but he's also making an impact in other ways for his new program.
"He's been around the game. He understands the game," Avent said of Bargo after NC State's 6-4 win over Princeton on Friday. "He was with Tennessee when they went to play for a national championship. He's been around. He knows what it takes to win and his leadership on the field and off the field has been what I admire most about him right now."
Mashing and leading
Introducing Bargo's bat to the heart of the Wolfpack lineup injected some new life into an offense that already had some key pieces. Through four games, Bargo is hitting .389 with a team-high three home runs, one of which came against the Tigers on Friday in a crucial eighth-inning rally. In terms of his approach, Bargo is leaning on that experience Avent pointed to when asked about his new player.
"A lot of it just has to do with offseason and preseason work that I've put in and letting my abilities take over and trust the process and go out there and play hard," Bargo said.
The first #BargoBomb at the Doak!💣 pic.twitter.com/hSs71WAgS6
— NC State Baseball (@NCStateBaseball) February 20, 2026
The heart of the Wolfpack's lineup centered around right fielder Brayden Fraasman in 2025. Back for another season in Raleigh, Fraasman is beginning to form a strong tandem with Bargo as the team's primary run producers. The right fielder is often placed in the lineup behind Bargo, allowing the Tennessee transfer to drive him in during key points of the game.
"Whether he's in front of me or behind me, I know he's going to have a good at-bat," Fraasman said. "Even one through nine, I just have all the confidence in the world."
HE DID IT AGAIN!
— NC State Baseball (@NCStateBaseball) February 14, 2026
That’s back-to-back games with a @dbargo09 💣
🍁: 0
🐺: 1 pic.twitter.com/pwn4HEjUSt
His leadership influence is already showing up in key spots. With freshman right-handed reliever Aiden Kitchings in a bit of a jam, Bargo, playing first base, was one of the first players to join the young arm on the mound for a quick discussion. Kitchings escaped unscathed, helping the Pack limit Princeton to just two runs in the early part of the game.
"I think a lot of it has to do with me catching growing up and coming out of high school as a catcher," Bargo said. "That side of me just takes over. I've been around a lot of baseball, played a lot of baseball. It's really easy for me to settle down the young guys, especially Kitchings... Just kind of settling everybody down and letting the game slow down and helping everybody else out."
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Tucker Sennett graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Sports Journalism from the esteemed Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. A former basketball player, he has gained valuable experience working at Cronkite News and brings a deep passion for sports and reporting to his role as the NC State Wolfpack Beat Writer On SI.
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