Cannon Peebles hits the transfer portal

For the second straight year, NC State’s dominant freshman hitter is heading out of Raleigh via the transfer portal. A year after Tommy White hit the exits after a phenomenal freshman year, Cannon Peebles will be following the same path.

Peebles was an ACC All-Freshman honoree and a Freshman All-American this year after hitting .352/.456/.697 across 172 plate appearances with a 15.7 BB% and 16.9 K%. For comparison, White’s All-Everything freshman year with the Wolfpack in 2022 saw him hit .360/.425/.754 over 266 PA with an 8.6 BB% and 18.8 K%.

The argument for Peebles leaving is obvious: with rising junior catcher Jacob Cozart still in the fold, the best-case scenario for the switch-hitting Peebles would be a timeshare behind the dish. This year boosted Peebles future draft stock considerably as he showed the ability with his bat, but he’ll need to display his abilities behind the dish if he wants to fully capitalize - and cash in - on his draft potential.

The NIL opportunities for Peebles will also not be limited.

For NC State, this is a real kick in the teeth. The Wolfpack have already lost a pair of would-be starters for next year via the transfer portal in Will Marcy and Payton Green. The upcoming MLB Draft next month will claim Gino Groover, and possibly Kalae Harrison and Noah Soles. Couple all that together with the graduations of Trevor Candelaria and Parker Nolan and NC State may be looking at having to replace as many as eight of their top ten bats from the 2023 team.