Joe Allen made an unofficial visit to Clemson from Tuesday to Wednesday.
On Wednesday night, the big-time righthanded pitcher in the class of 2022 from Winnacunnet High School (Hampton, New Hampshire) announced his commitment to the Tigers and their new head coach, Erik Bakich.
“We talked (Wednesday), and I was like, ‘Coach, I’m coming with you. This is where I wanna be,’” Allen told The Clemson Insider in a phone interview Thursday.
Allen, the 2021-22 Gatorade New Hampshire Baseball Player of the Year, had previously been committed to Bakich and Michigan when he was still the Wolverines’ head coach before being hired as the Tigers’ new head coach in June, replacing former Clemson head coach Monte Lee.
Nick Schnabel, who coached alongside Bakich during his tenure at Michigan from 2013-22 and has now joined Bakich’s staff at Clemson as assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator, helped recruit Allen to Clemson.
“I was committed to the University of Michigan with Coach Bakich and Coach Schnabel, and when they both took the job at Clemson, they asked me to come with them,” Allen said. “And to be now committed to Clemson University with such an incredible storied history of a school, and not only a school but a baseball program, is so cool and so awesome.”
Allen explained why he decided to flip his commitment from Michigan and follow Bakich to Clemson.
“Just the way we always talk to each other over the phone and interactions in person, and the way he just has this vibrant energy about him, and you can tell he cares about every single one of his players and loves the game of baseball just like I do,” Allen said. “He’s a coach that I’d run through a brick wall for, and I haven’t even put on a Clemson jersey yet.”
Allen’s unofficial visit to Clemson this week played a big part in his pledge to the Tigers as well.
“Honestly, as soon as I stepped on campus, it was just the care that they had for their baseball team,” he said of what stood out about the visit. “And the stadium, all the facilities are so top-level. But any time we went out to get food, the restaurant owner would come over and say hello to Coach Bakich, welcome him to Clemson, and they’d all come over and shake our hands. Just the love that the community has for baseball and the Clemson Tiger baseball team, that stuck out to me so much and that helped me make the decision extremely easy.”
At the time of Allen’s Gatorade New Hampshire Baseball Player of the Year selection on June 3, the 6-foot-4, 225-pound senior had led Winnacunnet to a 13-7 record and a berth in the Division 1 state tournament.
Allen posted a 3-2 record with a 1.62 ERA through the regular season, striking out 71 batters in 43 innings pitched while surrendering just 26 hits and 13 walks.
“That was a huge honor,” Allen said of the Gatorade accolade. “But I don’t win anything without my teammates behind me at my high school and the work they put in all year and the support I got – not only at the plate, but making all the plays behind me was perfect, and it’s a team award right there for the way they helped me all year.”
A first-team all-state selection, Allen was the only New England player chosen for the USA Baseball 18U National Team and also played in the 2021 Area Code Games. He was a third-team Rawlings/Perfect Game Preseason All-American.
Despite his success and laurels at the high school level, Allen isn’t coming to Clemson with a sense of entitlement, and he’s heading to Tiger Town hoping to help the Tigers accomplish the ultimate goal of winning their first-ever national championship.
“I know from day one, I’m going to have to go in there and earn everything, and that’s what I love about (Bakich) – nothing’s given,” Allen said. “And me as a pitcher, I’m just going to try to get outs as quick as possible and help take this team back to Omaha and win the first national title. That’s always the goal.”
Allen isn’t sure when he’ll arrive to Clemson to begin his college career, but he’s ecstatic to get started.
“After (the visit this week), I would love to be down there right now,” he said. “But we haven’t really figured out when exactly I’ll be down there. But I’m so, so excited to be a Tiger. I just can’t wait to be in that stadium when it’s full and pitching in front of the Tiger fans. I’m super excited.”
–Photo courtesy of Joe Allen on Twitter (@joeallen435)
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