Tom Walter wouldn't mind having Elliott Avent as a bench coach after he leaves NC State

The ACC will lose a legendary baseball coach after this season with the retirement of NC State's Elliott Avent.

Avent will guide the Wolfpack one last time in the NCAA regionals that will begin on Friday.

Wake Forest Coach Tom Walter reflected on what Avent has meant to him through the years. Walter is in his 17th season at Wake Forest and Avent coached in Raleigh for the last 30 years.

"First of all, I'm proud to call him a friend," Walter said about the 70-year-old Avent. "He's been a guy that's been a testament to college baseball for a really long time. He just has a deep love of his players and deep respect for the game, quite honestly one of my best friends in this game, and somebody that I respect and admire, and it's a big loss for us."

Avent was hired in 1996 and led the Wolfpack to 1,103 wins and three College World Series appearances in 2013, '21 and '24. The Wolfpack made the NCAA Tournament in 23 of his 30 seasons including Monday's bid.

The Wolfpack (32-22) is a No. 3 seed in the Auburn Regional and will play Friday at 6 p.m. against second-seeded Central Florida. The Wolfpack is in the NCAA Tournament for the 10th time in the last 11 seasons.

Walter, whose Demon Deacons play Kentucky on Friday at noon in West Virginia, said he wouldn't mind at all if Avent joined Walter's staff next season.

"I've already invited him to come be our bench coach next year," Walter said. "If I can get him to be my Don Zimmer, that would be a huge addition to our program. But again, one of the all-time greats, and I'm sad to see him go."

Zimmer was a bench coach for the New York Yankees from 1996-2003.

Avent said that it's been a great ride in Raleigh.

"Not many people get the chance to do what they love at a place that means so much to them," he said. "I've been lucky enough to have that opportunity and I've loved every minute of it. I want to thank all the coaches and staff who committed so much to make this journey so rewarding and successful."

Walter was excited to see that the Wolfpack were one of nine ACC teams that got in the 64-team tournament.

"I'm happy that he went out on his terms and gets to play in the NCAA Tournament on his way out the door," Walter said. "You talk about a guy of sustained excellence, with three times to Omaha and hosting regionals, and all that he's done, and the guys that he's had in the big leagues."

Walter said what is more impressive than Avent's statistics are what he's done with the program on a personal level.

"You hear about how his players talk about him, and how much they love him, and what he did for them," Walter said. "And as a coach, I can only hope that that one day our players feel half that way about me that his players feel about him."

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This story was originally published May 27, 2026 at 5:45 AM.