Tanner Gives Thoughts on Avent's Retirement

Inside Pack Sports reached out to former NC State head baseball coach and college baseball Hall-of-Famer Ray Tanner for thoughts on Elliott Avent and his retirement from NC State.

Tanner guided the Wolfpack to the 1992 ACC title and won consecutive national titles at South Carolina before transitioning into a career in athletic administration as Athletic Director of the Gamecocks.

Reached while attending the 2026 SEC Tournament in Hoover, Alabama, Tanner had plenty to say about his successor at NC State. 

NC State Baseball

RAY TANNER

Statement on Elliott Avent

The one word that I have for Elliott Avent is admiration.

Admiration covers the gambit. I have tremendous admiration for what he has done both as a coach and as a person over his many, many years at NC State.

I feel like Coach Avent and I grew up together. We were at NC State at the same time before he left, and we had a longstanding relationship. He was actually with me for a year before he went to New Mexico State. Of course, we stayed in touch all these years.

Sometimes when we talk, we don't get off the phone. We just keep talking. It is kind of hilarious. Elliott Avent is a wonderful human being.

He has experienced a lot of great days, but a 30-year stint at a place that he is so passionate about and the love of the game itself is amazing.

I was up there for the North Carolina series and saw a game. He is my friend, but take that off the table. It's so refreshing to see a coach that is so entrenched with his players, with his staff, with the fan base, and doing the right thing every day, all day long. 

I played there. I went to grad school, was an assistant coach and became head coach, so I was on campus for 20 consecutive years. I loved it, but I also knew that the program had to grow. Sometimes the program grows when somebody leaves. When I left, it grew, and Elliott was the man leading the charge that we are all so proud of.

Admiration is just a word to me that covers Elliott Avent’s entire career as a human being, as a Wolfpacker, as a coach, and as a person in the community.