Primarily a 1B, McHugh adds some pop and defensive flexibility to the Pack roster
Just when it seemed like NC State might be done on the roster front heading into the 2024 fall semester, the Wolfpack added another potential impact player for next season, this time in the form of VCU freshman infielder Chris McHugh.
The Smithtown, NY, native started all 55 games he appeared in for the Rams this year, including the season opening series in Raleigh against the Pack. For the season, McHugh hit .273/.390/.385, 8.8 BB%, 17.3 K%, 4-7 SB. That series against State – one in which McHugh went 3-for-11 with 1 R, 4 RBI, 1 HBP, and 1 SF – must have left a solid impression on Elliott Avent and staff.
While the righty primarily played first base, McHugh does have the arm strength to play on the opposite infield corner and has manned that spot a bit this summer while playing for Johnson City in the Appalachian League (.269/.345/.346, 10.3 BB%, 31.0 K%, 2-2 SB). The interesting part to this transfer news is that NC State has already taken on another pair of rising sophomore transfer corner infield transfers in 1B Matt Ossenfort and 3B Ryan Jaros. Ossenfort and Jaros don’t have the collegiate track record that Garrett Pennington and Alec Makarewicz had coming into the program last fall, so adding more competition here is not surprising and is a shrewd move on behalf of the coaching staff.
McHugh had plenty of opportunities against high-level competition last year for a VCU squad that earned a berth in the Greenville Regional. In 16 games against Top 100 RPI opponents (NC State, North Carolina, Maryland, Boston College, Virginia, Xavier, Old Dominion, Wake Forest, Evansville, East Carolina), McHugh hit .281/.344/.404, 4.7 BB%, 12.5 K%, 2-3 SB.