Earlier this week, Erik Bakich and the Clemson baseball program picked up a commitment from a talented player who also happens to be related to a former Tiger great.
Hilton Head (S.C.) Preparatory catcher Steele Burd, a class of 2024 prospect, announced his verbal pledge to the Tigers on Monday.
Burd is the nephew of Shane Monahan, a three-time All-American at Clemson (1993-95) who was selected by the Seattle Mariners with the 33rd overall pick in the 1995 MLB draft and broke into the Major Leagues with the Mariners in 1998.
Once Bakich became Clemson’s new head coach in June, Monahan phoned Bakich to tell him about Burd, who later received an offer from Bakich after he saw Burd compete in a recent Perfect Game event in the Greater Atlanta Area.
“He (Monahan) has a lot of connections with the Clemson baseball program, and he spoke to Erik Bakich,” Burd told The Clemson Insider in an interview after his commitment. “He knew him from when he was at Michigan. I’m not sure how, they just had a good relationship. So as soon as he got the head coaching job, he called Coach Bakich and let him know who I was. And then this past week, we were down in Atlanta for the big WWBA 16U National Championship and I introduced myself to him, talked to him a little bit. He watched me play and then that night after the game, he offered me. I was able to go up prior to this tournament in about, I think it was January, February, for a Clemson camp and I got to see the whole campus and got to take a look and see the facilities, and I fell in love.”
Monahan – a South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame inductee who is also an inductee to Clemson’s Athletic Hall of Fame – had a historic career as a Tiger that saw him become the first player in ACC history to be named league MVP, MVP of the ACC Tournament, MVP of an NCAA Regional, and a first-team All-American over his career. He set the national hit record in a season with 137 hits in just 55 games in 1994 and was a member of the USA National Baseball team in 1994, when he was awarded Team MVP after hitting .355 and stealing 20 bases during international competition.
Not only does Burd have Monahan as an uncle, but he has had him as a coach for several years as well. Burd plays for SEB Prime — Bluffton, Beaufort, Hilton Head and Coastal Georgia’s premier travel baseball organization that Monahan started and serves as the head coach of.
Burd and Monahan spend a ton of time together and have a very tight bond.
“He’s been coaching me for about four years now, and he’s just been there for me,” Burd said. “He lives close by, so we’re all tight and we all have a good connection with him. Our family is super close because we have some other family down here where we live also. So, I hit with him weekly, almost every day, talk to him almost every day. So, we’re super close and I’m happy I had him in my corner for this recruiting process.”
As much as he enjoys playing for Monahan now, Burd is equally as excited to suit up for Bakich when he matriculates to Clemson.
“I’m super excited to be able to play under him for the next couple years when I get there,” Burd said. “He was a super awesome guy, super nice, super approachable, and as soon as I shook his hand, I knew he was a coach that I wanted to play for, for my college career. It was just something that clicked with the conversation we had about the stuff that happens when we arrive on campus. And talking about with him how it’s more than baseball, that’s something I really want to be a part of. So, I knew as soon as he told me that and we talked for a little bit, I knew Clemson was the right choice for me.”
When Burd was on campus at Clemson for a camp earlier this year, he knew right away that it was somewhere he would want to play college baseball at.
“I think it was my second time on the Clemson campus. It was my first time seeing the baseball facilities and all that,” he said. “I just loved everything about it – from how it looked, how the coaches treated me when I was up there. The facilities were unbelievable. I fell in love immediately. As soon as we drove in on campus, it was just somewhere I knew I could play baseball and follow my uncle’s footsteps when he was at Clemson.”
What can Clemson fans expect to see from Burd on the diamond in the future?
“In the future I hope to be a catcher up there, which I think I can do,” he said. “I’m very good on the field, behind the plate, quick behind the plate. I have good footwork, throwdowns, pop times, all good. At the plate, I’m a good hitter. But I’m excited to bring to them my leadership and my competitive spirit to Clemson Baseball.”
–Photo courtesy of Steele Burd
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