How to fix baseball’s non-conference scheduling

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Auburn Tigers head coach Butch Thompson and NC State Wolfpack head coach Elliott Avent pose for a photo as Auburn Tigers take on NC State Wolfpack during the NCAA Regional Baseball tournament at Plainsman Park in Auburn, Ala. on Saturday, May 30, 2026. | Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Chris Hart has officially taken over as head of the NC State baseball program, and while he has his hands full, one area he needs to address is the non-conference scheduling. Anyone who has paid attention to the program over the past few years undoubtedly has been appalled at the general level of competition – or lack thereof – with the Wolfpack’s scheduling of teams outside of the ACC.

Below is how NC State’s non-conference schedule has stacked up over the last five years. Keep in mind that the 2024 season OOC SOS and OOC RPI numbers are inflated due to the increased competition as the team ran through the NCAA Tournament (five games against Top 10 RPI teams) and ended the season in Omaha.

• 2026: OOC SOS #218, OOC RPI #82, Avg Reg Season Opp RPI Rank 174.9
  • Weekend Series: Princeton (RPI #245), Sacred Heart (#247), Lafayette (#286)
  • Midweek: Liberty (#29), Coastal Carolina (#30), East Carolina (#36), Campbell (#58), UNCW (#121), Winthrop (#113), Richmond (#129), Elon (#236), Queens (#260), Akron (#273), NC A&T (#279)
  • Early Season Tournament: Washington (#158), Indiana State (#162), Seton Hall (#272)
• 2025: OOC SOS #100, OOC RPI #66, Avg Reg Season Opp RPI Rank 146.0
  • Weekend Series: Wright State (#88), Fordham (#194), Canisius (#289)
  • Midweek: East Carolina (#55), UNCW (#76), USC Upstate (#91), Campbell (#128), Richmond (#140), UNCG (#153), Davidson (#177), NC A&T (#252)
  • Early Season Tournament: Coastal Carolina (#2), Alabama (#15), Ohio State (#232)
• 2024: OOC SOS #12, OOC RPI #44, Avg Reg Season Opp RPI Rank 120.6
  • Weekend Series: VCU (#73), @ Hawaii (#74), Ball State (#117), Towson (#243)
  • Midweek: East Carolina (#24), Coastal Carolina (#34), UNCW (#38), UNCG (#65), Campbell (#85), Winthrop (#240), Queens (#281), Norfolk State (#301)
  • Early Season Tournament: n/a
• 2023: OOC SOS #82, OOC RPI #5, Avg Reg Season Opp RPI Rank 170.0
  • Weekend Series: Belmont (#215), NJIT (#222), Wagner (#234), The Citadel (#236)
  • Midweek: Coastal Carolina (#19), East Carolina (#26), UNCW (#43), Elon (#63), UNCG (#139), NC A&T (#187), Davidson (#216), Richmond (#227), Longwood (#228), Radford (#296)
  • Early Season Tournament: n/a
• 2022: OOC SOS #190, OOC RPI #54, Avg Reg Season Opp RPI Rank 151.5
  • Weekend Series: Evansville (#80), Northeastern (#118), Quinnipiac (#257), Radford (#258)
  • Midweek: East Carolina (#18), Campbell (#59), UNCW (#90), UNCG (#94), Elon (#149), High Point (#195), Longwood (#227), NC A&T (#269)
  • Early Season Tournament: n/a

Even with the postseason slate artificially inflating the 2024 OOC SOS and OOC RPI, that was still the best non-conference schedule that the Wolfpack has put together over the last five years. It’s no coincidence that year also happens to be the lone time NC State has hosted a Regional in that span.

There are four ways to fix the Wolfpack’s non-conference schedule:

1. Use past RPI performance as a predictor​

Use the last two-to-three years of RPI performance to drive your scheduling, focusing on teams that sit inside the Top 150, preferably the Top 100.

2. Schedule neutral/away games​

Games away from home boost the RPI for wins and minimize the impact of losses. It hurts ticket sales, sure, but you’re going to more than make up for four fewer regular season weekday home games by hosting a Regional.

3. Prioritize local/regional teams​

Bringing in nearby teams with alumni in and around Raleigh improves attendance while minimizing the travel for those RPI-boosting away/neutral games. This also gives a closer look at local smaller school players who you can prioritize in the transfer portal.

4. Max out midweek games early, avoid them late​

This one has two benefits. Scheduling multiple midweek games early in the year – even in the early weeks of conference play – forces you to use more pitchers and position players early, allowing you to learn what you have without the luxury of falling on your known entities early. Keeping midweek games off the schedule come late April and through May also provides more rest late in the regular season, while avoiding the need to cancel RPI-killing late season games (that can also be avoided by following #1 above). Keeping the midweek open late also opens up reschedule opportunities for RPI-boosting late season games.

What does this type of schedule look like?​

Ideally, NC State would schedule an SEC opponent (Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina) for a non-conference series, but that may not be necessary if the rest of the schedule is strong enough. Looking outside of the SEC, Coastal Carolina and East Carolina have an average RPI in the Top 40 over the last three years. Those two programs should continue to be scheduled. I’ve shouted it for years, but a weekend home-neutral-away series with ECU with the neutral site game played at Five County Stadium in Zebulon would be an instant sellout at all three venues while also allowing the best arms from each team to face off. Make it happen.

East Tennessee State, Mercer, Liberty, High Point, Campbell, USC Upstate, and Western Carolina have all posted an average RPI ranking in the Top 100 over both the last two years and the last three years. Charlotte has posted back-to-back seasons in the Top 100 and UNCW and The Citadel have average RPI rankings in the Top 100 over the last two seasons. That’s a great starting point and an indication that the programs shouldn’t significantly drop off in 2027.

Charleston, UNCG, Appalachian State, VCU, Georgia State, Charleston Southern, Richmond, George Mason, and Winthrop are also teams that should look to be scheduled in some capacity.

Of all those mentioned, Mercer, Liberty, High Point, The Citadel, Charleston Southern, Richmond, and Winthrop have improved their RPI ranks year-over-year for each of the last two seasons. That’s a solid sign of coaching. USC Upstate has three straight seasons of RPI ranks between 85 and 95, and indicator of program stability.

Schedule four weekend series among those teams listed above (Coastal, ECU, Mercer, Liberty, High Point, The Citadel, Charleston Southern, Richmond, Winthrop, USC Upstate), with one being on the road – or that home/neutral/away series with the Pirates. Sprinkle in a bunch of midweek games from the rest, including an even number of home and not-home games. That’s going to make the Wolfpack an advanced metrics darling, securing the team’s resume for the postseason while setting up the team for potential NCAA Regional hosting duties with an above-average campaign. Not to mention that the better competition will have the team ready for ACC play and the postseason.

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