Sam Russ has never played in the postseason.
That’s why she came to Clemson.
As the Tigers are set to host the first-ever Clemson Regional this weekend, it’s even more special for Russ and her family. Her father, Frank, was a starter on the first Clemson baseball team to host a regional in 1980.
“It’s so exciting,” Sam said. “The fact that he got to host Clemson’s baseball’s first-ever regional and then I get to host Clemson’s softball’s first-ever regional, is so exciting. My mom also went here, so I grew up a huge fan of Clemson and going to all the football games growing up. It was always my dream school, so it’s so exciting to get to come back here and play for my last year.”
“I did not know about her dad.” Clemson coach John Rittman said Thursday. It’s a situation with the transfer portal, names get in the portal and you start doing research…Obviously, there was a connection there and we have an MBA program and that’s what Sam wanted to study and earn her master’s degree.”
Rittman said that Clemson knew that Sam was a terrific player because they played against her last year when she was still at N.C. State and they knew what she was capable of.
“She’s fast, can steal bases, hit for power, hit for average and cover a lot of ground in the outfield,” Rittman added. “It was a great fit for our program and luckily she chose Clemson to work on her masters and play that extra year.”
This season, Sam leads the ACC with a program-record 25 stolen bases.
“At one point I was hitting behind her and it was awesome,” redshirt sophomore infielder Alia Logoleo said. “She would get on first and I knew that first pitch, she’s on second. So, it was really kind of stress off your shoulders because you know if she gets on base, she’s taking that next one almost automatic.”
The process of getting into Clemson wasn’t as quick as she is.
Sam had to get accepted into the MBA program at Clemson before the Tigers could officially sign her.
“The MBA program here at Clemson is huge, especially for internship opportunities,” she said, “and that’s what I was looking to do. Their admissions process was still open, so it really kind of fit perfectly into what I was looking for.”
Shortly after entering the transfer portal, Sam got a call from a phone number she didn’t recognize.
“Obviously, I was very excited when I picked up the phone and saw that it was him on the line and that they were potentially looking for an outfielder for the season,” Sam said. “It was really just my dream school calling me.”
When Sam informed her dad of her decision to attend Clemson for her final season of eligibility, Frank was “over the moon.”
Funny enough, they were on a father-daughter trip to the College World Series. That’s when she called Rittman to confirm that she would be spending her final season in Tiger Town.
The rest is history.
Five years of collegiate softball under her belt and Sam will finally have the chance to play in the postseason starting Friday,
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