NC State picks up former Tennessee reliever Hollis Fanning

NC State added an intriguing piece to its roster on Saturday in Tennessee transfer Hollis Fanning, a 6’8 hard-throwing right-hander. Well, hopefully added—he is eligible to be drafted.

He’s made only one start in his career but seems like a candidate for a more substantial role, perhaps as a starter, for the Wolfpack. His numbers from 2023 are impressive: 24 Ks, 3 BB in 14-1/3 IP. He hasn’t thrown a lot of innings in college, but he can definitely miss bats.

Fanning is an interesting story as well: he is blind in his left eye because of an accident he had while working on his family’s farm during high school. (An accident that makes me cringe just reading about it.) He had to re-learn how to play baseball in a number of different ways—in the beginning, for instance, he was checking runners at first by looking over his right shoulder. (He’s found a better approach since.)