NC State's Christmas Wishlist: What the Wolfpack Needs From Santa
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RALEIGH — Christmas and the Holiday season have arrived, with college campuses around the country deserted as students and student-athletes returned to their homes to be with family for the break. NC State is no exception, with fall sports wrapped up and winter sports taking a brief hiatus from practice to rest, recharge, and enjoy the holidays.
NC State men's basketball coach Will Wade already made his request from Santa Claus after the Wolfpack outlasted Ole Miss in the final game of the non-conference slate, but it's always fun to guess what other coaches and parts of the Wolfpack athletic program might want this time of year. Without further ado...
What do the programs want for Christmas?
Certainty at the quarterback position
Wolfpack football finished up the 2025 season with an 8-5 record after winning the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl. Due to the early finish to the season, NC State's staff had a head start on the process of retaining key members of the roster for 2026, as well as determining who might be leaving for the coming season. The biggest domino, and cause for potential concern, is sophomore quarterback CJ Bailey.
Before the team made its trip to Tampa, Bailey said he would use the break to discuss his future with his family, as he would likely be a hot commodity in the transfer portal. However, Bailey is comfortable working with offensive coordinator Kurt Roper and showed improvement between his freshman and sophomore years in Raleigh. The Wolfpack would love to find out Bailey isn't going anywhere, so it can start building around him for 2026.
An eighth member of the rotation
NC State men's basketball wrapped up non-conference play with a win over Ole Miss. That's when Wade made it very clear what he wants for Christmas.
"Hopefully, Santa brings me an eighth man for Christmas. That would be nice," the coach said. "There was one year in my previous job... We came in second in the league, won a ton of games, and played six guys. We had four of the top five in minutes. We played our best player; he played 40 minutes for eight straight games to end the year. I've got no problem playing seven guys."
He'll need to get more out of rotational players like Terrance Arceneaux, Jerry Deng and Matt Able if the Wolfpack wants to make a run through the ACC over the next two months.
Consistent focus
Wes Moore and NC State women's basketball played arguably the most difficult non-conference schedule of anyone in the sport. The coach learned his team needed to put more emphasis on smaller details and pregame scouting, particularly on the defensive end of the floor. The Wolfpack also lacked consistency through the early part of the season.
However, as ACC play began over the last week, Moore's group appeared significantly more grown up, throttling Miami and Georgia Tech to start conference play 2-0. If that new level of focus can turn into consistency on both ends of the floor, the Wolfpack could explode to success in the ACC schedule.
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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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