Dudan Hitting His Stride in First Two Starts For Wolfpack
RALEIGH — It was only a matter of time before NC State decided to take advantage of the arm talent of right-handed pitcher Jacob Dudan. After spending his first two seasons as the team's standout reliever, Dudan entered the 2026 season as the Wolfpack's second starter, building up to the role with pitching coach Clint Chrysler throughout the offseason.
The powerful righty finished the second start of his junior season with 11 strikeouts, moving to 2-0 as NC State hung 16 runs on the Princeton Tigers in the first leg of a Saturday doubleheader at Doak Field. While it looks as though Dudan is already elite, he believes he's only scratched the surface of what he's capable of moving forward. That's welcome news for head coach Elliott Avent, too.
Dealing on a Saturday
Dudan is having a career day with seven shutout innings. pic.twitter.com/St6NNosYdB
— NC State Baseball (@NCStateBaseball) February 21, 2026
Dudan's second start was a special one. The junior worked for seven innings, throwing a career-high 87 pitches, 65 of which he threw for strikes. He allowed just three hits during his outing before it came to an end in the eighth inning. While he was proud of his effort, there was no one more impressed in the facility than Avent, whose belief in Dudan appears to be paying off in a big way.
"Impressive. That's the best he's ever pitched since he's been here," Avent said. "I thought Drew Lanphere caught really well. He was a part of that.... Like I said, Dudan was outstanding."
Working deep into outings was new to Dudan, but he showed no signs of slowing down. He didn't feel as though things were unraveling late either. His trust in his teammates helped him surge, as did the run support. The ability to cruise allowed him to execute exactly what the game plan called for and Princeton simply didn't have the answers.
"I threw 86 pitches and in the seventh inning, I was still throwing 97 (MPH) with the fastball," Dudan said. "That was big for me, knowing that I still have the velo later in the game. ... Just being able to land offspeed early. I think they were really trying to sell out on the fastball early in the count."
Dudan's ascension became possible because of Avent's belief in him. In his freshman season, the coach leaned on the powerful arm of the righty to get outs in key moments during the team's run to the 2024 College World Series. Even after some struggles in Dudan's sophomore season, Avent believed in the pitcher's ability to become a starter.
"It's just how hard he's worked," Avent said. "I'm just so proud of him because he's been so valuable to us in the back end of the rotation for a team that went to Omaha and went to a final of a regional last year at Auburn and his value as been incredible. ... To become a starting pitcher, the discipline, the work ethic that he has shown is just so awesome for a coach to see good things happen to people that put that kind of work in."
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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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