NC State announces the return of a key starter. Who’s coming ‘back to the Pack’
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- N.C. State confirms QB CJ Bailey will return for his junior season in 2026
- Bailey finished the year with 3,105 passing yards, 25 touchdowns and 68.8% completion
- Program gains roster stability as coaching staff holds and backfield depth returns
N.C. State’s leader in the backfield will return to the team in 2026 after uncertainty surrounded the program and whether it would retain its starting quarterback.
The Wolfpack announced Friday that CJ Bailey will return for his junior season instead of entering the transfer portal, which opened the same day. He has played two seasons with N.C. State and is the first three-year starter since Ryan Finley.
Tweets from the athletic department state Bailey is “back with the Pack.”
“This is your answer!” tight ends coach Gavin Locklear tweeted. “We go higher!”
The young quarterback was thrust into the starting role as a freshman in 2024 after Grayson McCall’s two concussions, one of which led to McCall’s retirement from the sport.
Bailey played in the Wolfpack’s 31-7 win over Memphis in the Gasparilla Bowl on Dec. 19 after preparing as the starter. But did not give a definitive answer regarding his future prior to the team’s departure from Tampa, Florida.
Bailey passed for 3,105 yards, 25 touchdowns and 10 interceptions this season with a 68.8% completion rate. Through two seasons, he threw for 5,518 yards, 42 touchdowns and 20 interceptions.
Because N.C. State’s bowl took place before Christmas, rather than after, he told reporters he planned to return home, take time away from the sport and talk with his parents about next steps. He tried to avoid thinking about the impending decision prior to the game.
“Just think about this game coming up,” Bailey said. “Let everything else handle itself. I’m not too much into what’s going on outside of what’s in this building right now, and us getting that win in the bowl game.”
After N.C. State’s Gasparilla Bowl win, plenty of speculation took place in the weeks following due to the transfer announcements by running back Hollywood Smothers and wide receivers Terrell Anderson and Noah Rogers. Some fans took their departures as a sign Bailey would not return. Such was not the case.
N.C. State heads into the offseason with relative stability, the second year in a row that it’s known who would occupy the QB spot. This season, however, there are no expected assistant coaching changes. Kurt Roper’s promotion from quarterbacks coach to QB coach and offensive coordinator in 2025 was one of Bailey’s primary reasons for returning this past season.
Bailey opted to return for his sophomore season after a historic rookie season that put him among Wolfpack greats, Philip Rivers and Russell Wilson. He credited Roper for helping guide his growth. It’s one of the reasons he came back to N.C. State last season. Bailey agreed to return even before Roper’s promotion, because he wanted to play under Doeren and Roper.
“I already had my mind made up. I wanted to come back to State, be with coach Doeren and coach Roper and this amazing coaching staff and team,” Bailey said in the offseason between his freshman and sophomore seasons. “I wasn’t worried about the outside people; whoever was talking, whoever wanted me. I wanted to be at State.”
The Wolfpack hopes to maintain its backfield strength with Will Wilson, as well. The true freshman played a major role in short yardage situations, coming in for Bailey on a number of plays throughout the season, but he was limited on passing plays.
In previous years, N.C. State has gone to the portal for a quarterback, nabbing Brennan Armstrong in 2023 and McCall in 2024.
This story was originally published January 2, 2026 at 12:52 PM.
