Tag: Graham Neff

Graham Neff glad to see NIL done ‘the Clemson way’

Dear Old Clemson held its second NIL event in Clemson Saturday. The event, which allowed fans, local softball teams and members of the community, to have a meet-and-greet autograph session with Clemson’s softball team, was sponsored by the McWhorter …

Dear Old Clemson held its second NIL event in Clemson Saturday.

The event, which allowed fans, local softball teams and members of the community, to have a meet-and-greet autograph session with Clemson’s softball team, was sponsored by the McWhorter family, who the softball stadium is named for.

Clemson athletic director Graham Neff spoke at the event. Not only did he tout John Rittman’s fourth-year program, but he also mentioned plans for possibly expanding McWhorter Stadium in the near future. Neff primarily touched on how NIL events like Saturdays can impact student-athletes and the community alike.

“Fourth and fifth from an attendance standpoint, it’s been incredible just in Year 3,” Neff said Saturday at a NIL event in Clemson. “So, so much excitement, certainly for the softball program, and ladies, really appreciate and excited for you to be here and just the opportunity to engage in the community.”

From NIL to the transfer portal to conference realignment and changes within the NCAA it’s been an interesting start to the new job for Neff, who was named the 14th director of athletics in Clemson University history on Dec. 23, 2021.

“How we navigate these changes and continue to be leaders for Clemson and Clemson Athletics, we’re gonna do it the Clemson way and keep Clemson, Clemson,” Neff said. “And I think our approach to NIL — and this is a great opportunity and experience. This just feels really good here (Saturday) afternoon. We’re gonna continue to do it the right way, certainly from a compliant and NCAA standpoint.

“Through all the opportunities that we have to engage in the community and have NIL opportunities for our student-athletes, not just softball (Saturday) afternoon, but all of our programs. It’s just really, really important that we’re being transparent and available and certainly active from a compliant manner.”

Neff said that Clemson and its student-athletes will have support administratively, which is why he was at the Madren Conference Center on Saturday.

“That’s why I’m here, he said, “to be available and to give credence and support to certainly this event and Dear Old Clemson and other collectives that we have within the community

He just wants him and Clemson’s athletic administration to be available because NIL is such a gray area for the student-athletes, the community and community leaders. 

“We’ve worked a lot from an administrative standpoint with our coaching staff on how to do things the right way — the Clemson way,” Neff said. “I think we’re really excited to continue to expand the opportunities for our student-athletes and community…and to continue to grow the Clemson brand and our student-athletes.”

Clemson, Rittman reach new agreement

CLEMSON, S.C. – Clemson University and head softball coach John Rittman have agreed to a five-year contract extension through 2027, the athletic department announced Thursday. The terms of the contract were approved by the Clemson University Board …

CLEMSON, S.C.  — Clemson University and head softball coach John Rittman have agreed to a five-year contract extension through 2027, the athletic department announced Thursday. The terms of the contract were approved by the Clemson University Board of Trustees Compensation Committee. 

“The speed in which Coach Rittman and his staff have elevated our softball program to national prominence has been so impactful to Clemson,”said Director of Athletics Graham Neff. “We are excited to watch this program flourish under Coach Rittman’s leadership at Clemson for years to come.” 

“I am extremely honored and proud to be the Head Softball Coach at Clemson University,” said Rittman. “I would like to thank the Board of Trustees, President Clements, Director of Athletics Graham Neff, Associate Athletics Director Natalie Honnen and IPTAY for their continued support and commitment to me and our program. Clemson is such a special place, and I am so grateful to be able to work alongside such outstanding coaches, staff, players and alums. Together we have built a winning culture, and we will continue working hard to achieve all our goals both on and off the field.” 

Rittman has compiled a 105-33 record over the first three seasons of the Clemson softball program, including posting a 62-11 record at McWhorter Stadium. Rittman was named the 2021 ACC Coach of the Year and guided the Tigers to become 2021 ACC Regular Season Champions, advanced to the 2021 and 2022 ACC Championship games and made two NCAA Postseason appearances. 

Most recently, Clemson hosted the 2022 Clemson NCAA Softball Regional where the softball team swept the regional against Auburn, Louisiana and UNC Wilmington after scoring 18 runs while shutting out opponents in every game and run-ruling Louisiana and UNCW. The Tigers advanced to the program’s first Super Regional taking on Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Okla. 

With Rittman at the helm, the Tigers have propelled themselves to new heights each year. During the 2022 season, Clemson upset then-No. 6 Washington, 2-0, to mark the program’s first top-10 win. The Tigers later went on to upset then-No. 2 Virginia Tech, 4-1, in the ACC Championship semifinals to mark the highest victory over a ranked opponent. 

Clemson followed that by playing its 100th game in program history and tied Clemson women’s tennis for the most wins through a program’s first 100 games with a 78-22 record. With that record, Rittman solidified himself as the winningest coach among active head coaches at Clemson surpassing Dabo Swinney, who held a 74-26 record. The Tigers continued to reach new levels by winning their 100th game in only 130 games on May 1 with a 3-2 win against Georgia Tech on Senior Day to become the second-fastest program at Clemson to reach 100 wins trailing only women’s tennis (128).

Under Rittman’s direction, the softball program has 14 All-ACC selections, 14 All-ACC Academic selections and 61 ACC Academic Honor Roll honorees. Valerie Cagle is a two-time NFCA All-American and graduate Sam Russ was named to CoSIDA’s Academic All-America Third Team to become softball’s first Academic All-American. Three Tigers have also been awarded the Weaver-James-Corrigan-Swofford Postgraduate Scholarship Award from the ACC.

— Courtesy of Clemson Athletic Communications

Clemson baseball’s ‘inside-out’ plan to regain competitive edge

Clemson athletic director Graham Neff followed through on his promise to “invest big” in the Tigers’ next baseball coach when he recently hired Erik Bakich, doubling the former Michigan coach’s salary in the process. Bakich, who spent a decade at …

Clemson athletic director Graham Neff followed through on his promise to “invest big” in the Tigers’ next baseball coach when he recently hired Erik Bakich, doubling the former Michigan coach’s salary in the process.

Bakich, who spent a decade at Michigan and led the Wolverines to a national runner-up finish in 2019, is the highest-paid baseball coach Clemson has ever had. He will make $850,000 in the first year of a six-year contract that will see his total compensation increase to $1.1 million by the end of it.

Clemson is also in line to spend a good chuck of change on the rest of the staff. In addition to bringing with him his top assistant, Nick Schnabel, Bakich has hired one of the ACC’s top pitching coaches, former Florida State assistant Jimmy Belanger, in the same capacity with the Tigers.

But Neff acknowledged investing in coaches is just one part of the equation when it comes to making Clemson competitive in the league again.

“We’ve talked a lot about being a top-15 program and that commitment starts here, but it’s much more than that,” Neff said during Bakich’s introductory press conference last week.

Clemson’s program fell off during the latter part of Monte Lee’s tenure, finishing 10th and 11th in the ACC standings the last two seasons and missing out on consecutive NCAA Tournaments for the first time since the 1980s. But it’s not just on the field where the Tigers are competing against their opponents.

Like many programs, Clemson is trying to find ways to level the playing field in a sport where each team has just 11.7 scholarships to divvy up among 27 players each year. Some schools are able to mitigate that in recruiting by dipping into their university endowments.

Asked if there are any plans at Clemson from a facility and infrastructure standpoint to help the Tigers keep up, Neff said it’s a topic he discussed with Bakich during the interview process.

“Through the get-to-know and the search process, particularly with Coach, you can tell (he is) very cerebral, very program-management oriented and very curious,” Neff said. “So we talked a lot about 11.7 stretchers and the intentionality that we have administratively with (financial) aid and how we can help with the new Alston dollars that are available and some of the other summer-schools investment things like that just to help those things because all of those little things matter.

“That’s our job administratively. Infrastructure, aid helps and then what that looks like for staff. It starts with people, so all those things matter. Those have all been baked within our review and discussions with Coach Bakich and him back to us as he’s evaluating our commitment. It’s easy to say when we talk about (being a) top 15 (program), but that means so much more. And we’re committed to that inside-out.”

As for facilities, Neff revealed one new project that’s in the works.

“We’ve recently upgraded our indoor hitting cages, and we have designs for a baseball/softball indoor practice facility essentially,” he said. “That’s just very preliminary, but that’s the next big project in how it would support both of those programs and other programs.”

Why Bakich always put Clemson on ‘pedestal’ of baseball coaching jobs

Erik Bakich needed less than seven seconds to utter how he really feels about the job he’s walking into. Asked during his introductory press conference what his level of excitement was when athletic director Graham Neff first called him about the …

Erik Bakich needed less than seven seconds to utter how he really feels about the job he’s walking into.

Asked during his introductory press conference what his level of excitement was when athletic director Graham Neff first called him about the possibility of replacing Monte Lee as Clemson’s baseball coach, Bakich said, on a scale of 1-10, it was “level 10 for sure.” The next sentence out of Bakich’s mouth was even more complimentary of the Tigers’ program, one he’d worked for two decades earlier as an assistant under Hall of Famer Jack Leggett.

“I’ve always put Clemson on the pedestal,” Bakich said. “Very grateful for the opportunity I had here and feel like I wouldn’t be here today without that opportunity 20 years ago.”

Bakich spent the previous 10 season as the head coach at Michigan, where he took the Wolverines to the College World Series in 2019. Prior to that, he resurrected the program at Maryland after spending seven seasons as an assistant under Tim Corbin at Vanderbilt, an SEC powerhouse.

But coaching all started for Bakich in 2002 at Clemson, where he joined Corbin and Kevin O’Sullivan, now the coach at Florida, on Leggett’s star-studded staff. Just two years removed from his days as a player at East Carolina, Bakich helped tutor the national player of the year, Khalil Greene, as Clemson went 54-17 and advanced to the College World Series in his only season as Leggett’s assistant.

That kind of successful introduction to the profession left an indelible mark on him.

“Your first year coaching, it’s like, ‘Oh yeah, we’ll just win 54 games, be No. 1 in the country and go to Omaha.’ That’s just how you do it,” Bakich said. “For me, it was a lot of times drinking from the fire hose, being a sponge and taking it all in.

“I will forever be thankful and grateful for not only being on staff with those guys but the fact that Coach Corbin, Coach O’Sullivan and myself shared a single office every single day. You want to talk about accelerating the learning curve, that was it. So it’s all of those things fortified by our team success and still maintaining contact and relationships with those guys.”

Bakich is tasked with trying to get Clemson back to the point where it’s meeting those expectations. The Tigers, who are coming off back-to-back NCAA Tournament misses, haven’t been to the College World Series since 2010.

Bakich came to Clemson to compete on national stage

The level of expectations for Clemson baseball don’t intimidate the Tigers’ new head coach. Rather, Erik Bakich embraces the lofty standards and the high bar that has been set for the Clemson baseball program that’s made a dozen College World Series …

The level of expectations for Clemson baseball don’t intimidate the Tigers’ new head coach.

Rather, Erik Bakich embraces the lofty standards and the high bar that has been set for the Clemson baseball program that’s made a dozen College World Series appearances.

“Results matter at this level,” Bakich said while being formally introduced as Clemson’s next head baseball coach during an introductory press conference Thursday. “There are five championships to win every season – two in the conference, three in the postseason. One of the reasons a student-athlete comes to Clemson, besides a great education, is to compete on a national stage for all five championships.”

Clemson’s new athletic director, Graham Neff, made his expectations for Clemson baseball very clear recently after opting not to bring Monte Lee back for an eighth season as the Tigers’ head baseball coach.

“I consider Clemson baseball a top-15 job. Period,” Neff said. “With the tradition, the resources, the facilities, the fan base and the talent within this state of South Carolina and the region, I think that’s where Clemson baseball should be. And what that means from a competition for postseason – regionals, super regionals and Omaha. We’ve been to 12 College Worlds Series and intend to increase that number.”

Bakich was asked about those comments from Neff and if the expectations for the program are daunting to him at all.

“Absolutely not. I love it,” he said. “I see that as a great challenge. I look at 2010, the program was in Omaha. Coach Lee’s first three years were hosting regionals. I just don’t see any reason why Clemson Baseball can’t compete for national championships, trips to Omaha, ACC Championships and host the postseason right here at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.”

Bakich served as head coach at Michigan the last 10 seasons, leading the Wolverines to the 2019 College World Series championship series. He was the consensus national coach of the year in 2019, when he led Michigan to an NCAA runner-up finish and a 50-22 record.

Bakich also served as a head coach at Maryland (2010-12) and as an assistant coach at Vanderbilt (2003-09) along with his one year as volunteer assistant coach at Clemson under head coach Jack Leggett in 2002, when the Tigers had a 54-17 record and advanced to the College World Series.

Bakich said the approach he’s taken in other positions that he has held won’t change at Clemson in terms of putting the target on developing the total person, off the field and on it.

And on the field, he says the Tigers will aim to achieve winning the program’s first-ever national championship.

“I believe that developing the person, the teammate, the future husband, the future father, the future community leader – there’s a trickle-down effect that leads to the results on the field. So, I would be unwavering in that process of how important the classroom time is,” Bakich said.

“And then on the field, the approach won’t be any different, either. We’ll look to put together the best team in the country that we can possibly field. In 126 years of Clemson Baseball history, we are yet to win a national championship, and I don’t see any reason why we can’t have that lofty goal year in and year out, and that’s what we’ll be striving for. That’s how we’ll be recruiting and that’s how we’ll be developing.”

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Twitter reacts: Clemson baseball hires Erik Bakich as new head coach

Check out how Twitter reacted to Clemson hiring Michigan’s Erik Bakich as the Tigers’ 28th baseball head coach in program history.

After missing the NCAA Tournament for consecutive seasons for the first time since 1986, Clemson baseball has hired a new head coach in Erik Bakich.

Although the media had broken the news days before it was official, Clemson’s Board of Trustees Compensation Committee officially approved a six-year contract with Bakich on Thursday that will pay Bakich $850,000 in the first year and will progressively increase by $50,000 until the salary reaches $1.1 million in year six.

Spending the last 10 seasons as Michigan’s head coach Bakich was the runner-up in the 2019 College World Series and led the Wolverines to five of the last seven NCAA Tournaments. Although he had success at Michigan, his coaching career began in Clemson in 2002 when he was a volunteer assistant for Jack Leggett.

Athletic director Graham Neff said during the hiring process that he viewed Clemson baseball as a top-15 job in the nation. Still, despite Neff’s expectations and the program’s past successes, Bakich isn’t shying away from what he expects from himself and his new team.

“I see that as a great challenge,” Bakich said. “I look at 2010; that program was in Omaha. Coach Lee’s first three years, we were hosting regionals. I just don’t see any reason why Clemson baseball can’t compete for national championships, trips to Omaha, ACC Championships and host the postseason right here at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.”

With Clemson letting go of Monte Lee in May, Bakich will serve as the Tigers’ 28th baseball head coach with the hope of winning the program’s first national championship.

Here’s how Twitter reacted to the hire.

Watch Erik Bakich be introduced as Clemson’s new coach

Clemson athletic director got his man and Thursday he introduced Erik Bakich as the next head baseball coach for the Tigers. Watch Bakich’s introduction on TCITV: Statements:

Clemson athletic director got his man and Thursday he introduced Erik Bakich as the next head baseball coach for the Tigers.

Watch Bakich’s introduction on TCITV:

Statements:

Erik Bakich is officially named the new head coach of Clemson baseball

Erik Bakich is officially Clemson baseball’s new head coach

Via Clemson Athletic Communications:

Director of Athletics Graham Neff named Erik Bakich as Clemson’s 28th head baseball coach on June 16, 2022. The Clemson University Board of Trustees Compensation Committee approved the measure.

Bakich served as head coach at Michigan the last 10 seasons, leading the Wolverines to the 2019 College World Series championship series. Bakich also served as a head coach at Maryland (2010-12) and as an assistant coach at Vanderbilt (2003-09) along with his one year as volunteer assistant coach at Clemson in 2002.

“We are delighted to welcome Erik, Jiffy and their three children back to the Clemson Family,” said Neff. “Erik impressed us with his integrity, his approach to running a program and the emphasis he puts into the student-athlete experience. He knows well the expectations at Clemson, which he contributed to, through his role within the 2002 team and working alongside Jack Leggett, Tim Corbin and Kevin O’Sullivan, among others. I am confident in Erik’s ability to compete for ACC Championships and return to Omaha, and do it the right way.”

Bakich was the consensus national coach of the year in 2019, when he led Michigan to an NCAA runner-up finish and a 50-22 record. He also led it to the NCAA Tournament in 2015, 2017, 2021 and 2022, meaning five of his last seven teams (excluding 2020) advanced to the national tournament. Bakich guided the Wolverines to Big Ten Tournament titles in 2015 and 2022 as well.

“Our family is thrilled to join the Clemson Athletics family and immerse ourselves in the local community,” said Bakich. “It was an honor to wear the Clemson uniform 20 years ago as a young coach on Jack Leggett’s staff. I am forever grateful and very appreciative for the opportunity to start coaching at Clemson surrounded by three Hall of Famers and a record-setting team. It is a privilege to serve as a steward of this storied tradition and help lead Clemson Baseball back to prominence competing for ACC Championships, trips to Omaha and our first National Championship.”

Bakich is no stranger to the ACC, as he served three seasons as head coach at Maryland. In 2012, he led the Terrapins to a 32-24 record, a 15-win improvement from his first season in College Park.

Prior to his three years at Maryland, Bakich was an assistant coach at Vanderbilt under Head Coach Tim Corbin, who was an assistant coach at Clemson from 1994-02. Vanderbilt had a 276-157 record in his seven seasons (2003-09) in Nashville.

Bakich served as recruiting coordinator for the Commodores, helping sign some of the nation’s top recruits, including No. 1 overall draft pick David Price. All seven of his recruiting classes were ranked in the top 25, including the top-rated class in 2005 and the No. 2 class in 2008.

The 44 year old began his coaching career as a volunteer assistant coach under Head Coach Jack Leggett and alongside Corbin and Kevin O’Sullivan at Clemson in 2002, when he worked with the Tiger outfielders and infielders. The Tigers had a 54-17 record and advanced to the College World Series with the likes of national player of the year Khalil Greene, Jeff Baker and Michael Johnson, who combined for 77 home runs.

Bakich started his playing career at San Jose (Calif.) City College, then he transferred to East Carolina to play two seasons (1999,00) under late Head Coach Keith LeClair, whom Leggett coached when LeClair played at Western Carolina. The Pirates won back-to-back CAA titles and earned No. 1 seeds in NCAA Regionals both years and was named to the 1999 Baton Rouge Regional all-tournament team. The outfielder hit .315 with 14 home runs and 85 RBIs in two seasons.

He graduated from East Carolina in 2000 with a degree in exercise & sport science. He then played two years (2000,01) professionally in multiple independent leagues. After his playing career, Bakich returned to East Carolina, where he served as an assistant strength & conditioning coach for one year.

He was born Erik Michael Bakich on Nov. 27, 1977 in San Jose, Calif. He graduated from Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose in 1996. He and his wife, Jiffy, have two sons, Colt and Beau, and a daughter, Tempie.

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Clemson has its next baseball coach

Graham Neff and Clemson have a new baseball coach. The Clemson Insider has confirmed that Michigan’s Erik Bakich has agreed to a deal to become the next head coach for the Tigers. Bakich comes with ties to Clemson’s program. He got his coaching …

Graham Neff and Clemson have a new baseball coach. 

The Clemson Insider has confirmed that Michigan’s Erik Bakich has agreed to a deal to become the next head coach for the Tigers.

Bakich comes with ties to Clemson’s program. He got his coaching career started at Clemson as a volunteer assistant under Jack Leggett in 2002. Clemson went to the College World Series in Bakich’s lone season on staff.

Bakich also spent time as an assistant at Vanderbilt and was the head coach for three seasons at Maryland before taking the job at Michigan, where he just completed his 10th season. He led the Wolverines to the College World Series in 2019, their first trip to Omaha since 1984.

He currently makes roughly $400,000 in base salary as part of a contract that was extended following the Wolverines’ CWS appearance in 2019.

Bakich, whose team was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament last week, is no longer coaching this season. Bakich’s squad fell just short of its second super regional appearance in the last three NCAA Tournaments, falling to Louisville, 11-9, in the final game of the Louisville Regional on Monday, June 6.

Photo courtesy of Steven Branscombe/USA Today Sports

Saturday update on Clemson’s baseball coaching search

Clemson’s search for its next baseball coach is going on its second week. And with more jobs around the country opening up, it’s impacting the Tigers’ hunt for Monte Lee’s replacement. After learning last week that three prominent sitting college …

Clemson’s search for its next baseball coach is going on its second week. And with more jobs around the country opening up, it’s impacting the Tigers’ hunt for Monte Lee’s replacement.

After learning last week that three prominent sitting college coaches are at or near the top of athletic director Graham Neff’s list of candidates, The Clemson Insider has received more intel on the search. We wanted to pass along the latest on where things stand as of this morning.

Michigan’s Erik Bakich, Notre Dame’s Link Jarrett and East Carolina’s Cliff Godwin are still very much candidates of interest for Neff, who wants to talk to at least one coach whose team is participating in this weekend’s super regionals, according to a source. While TCI can’t confirm exactly which coaches those might be, Jarrett and Godwin have their teams in the super regionals.

So does Louisville’s Dan McDonnell, a darkhorse candidate for the job. McDonnell, who’s trying to lead the Cardinals to a sixth College World Series berth during his tenure, is making north of $1 million annually, so it would take a pretty penny for Clemson to make this caliber of a hire.

But other high-profile programs have joined Clemson in the market for a new coach since the Tigers parted ways with Lee on May 31. One of them is fellow ACC member Florida State, which fired Mike Martin Jr. on Friday after just three seasons at the helm of the Seminoles’ program.

That move affects Clemson’s search the most even if it didn’t come as a complete surprise. According to a source with knowledge of Clemson’s search, the program got wind earlier in the week that FSU would likely move on from Martin and pursue Jarrett as its next coach. Aside from the fact Jarrett has led Notre Dame to back-to-back super regional appearances, the Fighting Irish’s third-year coach is a Tallahassee native who played for FSU in the early 1990s. He also spent the 2003 season on the Seminoles’ staff under Martin’s father, legendary FSU coach Mike Martin.

If the allure for Jarrett to return home proves too much for Clemson to overcome, Bakich and Godwin would still be in play, particularly from a financial standpoint. Each reportedly makes approximately $400,000 annually, which is less than the $500,000 salary Lee made this year.

Bakich, whose team was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament last week, is no longer coaching this season. Godwin has ECU a win away from the College World Series after the Pirates beat David Pierce’s Texas squad in the opening game of their super regional Friday.

Other coaches who have their teams in super regionals are Virginia Tech’s John Szefc, Oklahoma’s Skip Johnson, Auburn’s Butch Thompson, Oregon State’s Mitch Canham, Tennessee’s Tony Vitello, Ole Miss’ Mike Bianco, Southern Miss’ Scott Berry, Stanford’s David Esquer, Connecticut’s Jim Penders, Arkansas’ Dave Van Horn, North Carolina’s Scott Forbes and Texas A&M’s Jim Schlossnagle.