USA Baseball has named North Carolina State’s Elliott Avent the manager of the 2021 Collegiate National Team. Avent is currently in his 25th season at the helm of the Wolfpack, where he earned National Coach of the Year honors in 2003 and recorded his 900th win with the program on April 6.
The 2021 season will mark Avent’s USA Baseball managerial debut and his third time overall working with the Collegiate National Team. He served as an assistant coach for the 2004 and 2015 teams, helping to lead Team USA to a FISU World University Championships gold medal and an 18-7 record in 2004.
“Elliott is an exceptional baseball coach with an outstanding legacy of success throughout his long tenure at NC State,” said USA Baseball Collegiate National Team General Manager Eric Campbell. “Since USA Baseball arrived in the Triangle in 2003, Elliott and the NC State program have been incredibly generous in supporting all of our programs and we are excited to have him once again working with the Collegiate National Team. We are confident that he will serve as a tremendous example and leader for this year’s team of talented young athletes both on and off the field.”
Avent has amassed a 906-544 overall record since taking over the NC State program in 1996. In his 25 seasons as the head coach, he has led the Wolfpack to a College World Series berth in 2013 and 18 appearances in the NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, including 13 in the last 15 years that the event has been held. He was named the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and National Coach of the Year in 2003 after guiding his team to a 45-18 record (15-9 in the ACC) and a NCAA Super Regional appearance. In 2017, Avent became one of four active coaches in the ACC to reach the 1,000 career victories milestone. He is currently one of the top 10 winningest active head coaches in college baseball with an overall career record of 1,130-757.
“Being selected to coach some of the best collegiate players in our great game is a special honor,” said Avent. “I’ve had the privilege to work alongside Eric Campbell in previous years and USA Baseball, under the superb leadership of Paul Seiler, is a well-run organization. I look forward to announcing our staff in the coming weeks before turning our attention to selecting the team that will get the opportunity to compete and represent our country this summer.”
Under Avent’s guidance, the Wolfpack hosted its first NCAA Regional in 2008 and has since been tapped to host in 2012, 2013, 2016, and 2018, and the team has made nine NCAA postseason appearances in the last 10 seasons that have included a postseason tournament. Additionally, since 2003 he has led the program to a school-record six consecutive NCAA appearances from 2003-2008, four NCAA Regional championships, three Super Regional appearances, and one Super Regional championship.
Over the course of his tenure at NC State, Avent has coached 34 All-Americans, seven of the program’s nine first-team All-Americans, 37 first-team All-ACC selections, and has seen 112 of his players taken in the MLB First-Year Player Draft – including 39 since 2014.
Ten of his former athletes have participated on the Collegiate National Team, including Joey Devine (2004), Carlos Rodon (2012, 2013), Trea Turner (2012, 2013), Will Wilson (2018) and Patrick Bailey (2018, 2019).
The remaining Collegiate National Team staff and the 2021 schedule will be announced at a later date. To stay up-to-date with the Collegiate National team, visit USABaseball.com or follow @USABaseballCNT on Twitter.
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