Clemson’s baseball program hasn’t been its usual self of late.
After a stretch of playing in 28 of 29 NCAA Tournaments, the Tigers have gone two straight seasons without appearing in a regional. And a program that’s made the third-most College World Series appearances of any ACC team (12) has finished 11th or lower in the conference standings both years, something athletic director Graham alluded to shortly after making the decision in late May not to retain Monte Lee as the program’s head coach.
Neff made it clear then that his expectations for the program moving forward are to be one that competes not only for ACC titles but also national championships again. He’s tasked Erik Bakich, who was hired away from Michigan last month, with getting the Tigers back to that level.
How long does Clemson’s new coach think that will take?
“This year,” Bakich told The Clemson Insider this week.
From the outside looking in, that may sound ambitious given Clemson is just two seasons removed from a losing season and has won just 43% of its ACC games during that span. But Bakich said his belief is rooted in the talent of a roster he’s had a chance to thoroughly assess since his first day on the job June 16.
“That’s the one thing I’ve been impressed with besides everything else,” Bakich said. “When doing a needs assessment for the roster, the pitchers have really good stuff. The position players are athletic and explosive. There’s not any glaring weaknesses in terms of the roster. The former coaches, they were very good recruiters and brought in some very talented players. There are no excuses, and I don’t see any reason why we can’t compete to win the ACC this next year.”
Clemson has had a handful of players respond to the coaching change by transferring out of the program, and the roster could be further altered by what happens in next week’s Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Max Wagner, the ACC’s Player of the Year, as well as pitcher Mack Anglin could hear their names called relatively early while some of Clemson’s 2022 signees could also have a decision to make if any are drafted high enough.
Regardless of who ends up suiting up for the Tigers next spring, though, Bakich said Clemson will have everything it needs from a talent perspective to make a significant jump in the ACC. Bakich’s real quandary will be figuring out how to properly use it.
“I don’t see, ‘Hey, we need to get this or else,’” Bakich said. “What I see is we need to figure out, over the course of the fall, what the best roles of all the pitchers are going to be because you have a lot of guys with some really good stuff. You have multiple guys who have made starts, multiple guys who have pitched in high-leverage situations. It’s just figuring out the roles. Same thing with the position players. We’re going to have a lot of talent out there.
“It’s just putting all those puzzles pieces together will be the key, but the classroom sessions we’re going to do is where the team becomes the team and where their development is as teammates. Maybe helping them unlock some things mentally and physically that can help them be a little bit better and help the team be a little bit better. That’s the difference.”
Dear Old Clemson’s first event is July 24. Now there is a new way to support Clemson student-athletes. Come out and meet the freshmen football players at this meet and greet autograph session. If you sign up for certain club levels you get free access to all Dear Old Clemson events. Purchase your tickets today at Dear Old Clemson.
