NC State Eliminated From College World Series Due To COVID-19 Issues

The North Carolina State Wolfpack have been eliminated from the College World Series due to COVID-19-related issues.

The NCAA Division I baseball committee declared the Wolfpack's winner-take-all bracket final against Vanderbilt scheduled for Saturday (June 26) a no contest due to COVID-19 protocols, effectively eliminating NC State and advancing the Commodores to the College World Series championship round, according to a statement shared on NCAA.com.

Vanderbilt will face the winner of the semifinals matchup between Texas and Mississippi State on Saturday.

The NCAA said it made its decision based on the recommendation of the championship medical team and the Douglas County Health Department, the local health department for the tournament's host city, Omaha, Nebraska.

"The NCAA and the committee regret that NC State's student-athletes and coaching staff will not be able to continue in the championship in which they earned the right to participate," the statement read. "Because of privacy issues, we cannot provide further details."

The Douglas County Health Department said it offered testing and investigation support, but the NCAA Division I Baseball committee and its medical team ultimately made the decision to eliminate NC State from the tournament based on the COVID-19 issues.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic caused numerous cancellations to NCAA sports since it began in March 2020, but only three teams had been removed from NCAA championship play due to the virus: the University of Virginia men's basketball team, the Rice University women's volleyball team and the University of Michigan men's hockey team.

The Duke University men's basketball team was also eliminated from the ACC tournament in March, which effectively ruled out any chance of making the NCAA March Madness tournament.