It didn’t take long for Erik Bakich’s move from Michigan to Clemson to pay dividends on the recruiting trail.
Infielder Riley Bertram elected to follow his head coach down to South Carolina. Bertram started each of the last two seasons in the Wolverines’ middle infield, starting 31 of 37 games at second base in 2021 before moving to shortstop this season. He started all 62 games for Michigan this past year, hitting .298 with two home runs, 19 doubles and 40 RBIs.
He hit .271 in four years at Michigan and brings a .946 career fielding percentage to Clemson, which is starting over under Bakich
Bertram talked about his transition to the ACC school and life in the south in an exclusive interview with The Clemson Insider at a NIL event in Clemson last month.
“Clemson’s definitely different, a little smaller town and all, but the transition has been very smooth, especially with the teammates on this team,” Bertram said. “The upperclassmen, they’ve taken us in as a part of the team quickly. They’ve been very friendly and everything’s gone pretty smoothly.”
Bertram transferred to Clemson, to play again for coach Erik Backich, and in doing so he reunited with his roommate at Michigan, Willie Weiss. Nearly 700 miles from Ann Arbor, the pair are roommates again, which has made the transition that much easier.
“Having one of your good friends along with you when you’re making such a culture change, just an overall large change, it’s always good to have a familiar face with you,” Bertram added.
With that, are there any noticeable differences in how Bakich ran his program at the University of Michigan compared to now?
“Coach Bakich has the way that he coaches,” Bertram said. “He has his culture. He has his standards for a program. For the most part, it’s the same. There are obviously some tweaks here and there, but overall, that’s how he runs his program. He believes in it. A lot of our team believes in it as well. I’ve believed in it for five years. It’s a big reason why me and Willie came with him. It’s all the same and we’re gonna stick to that.”
Bertram has found that he’s meshed well with the new staff at Clemson, which he’s described as “phenomenal.”
“(Ben Paulsen) and Phil Phol — big leaguers,” Bertram said of the former Clemson players now on Bakich’s support staff. “Just to have them around the locker room, facility; it’s cool talking to big leaguers whenever they’re helping out for a college team because they might say something and it might seem small, but once that clicks, you’re like, ‘Oh my goodness, that’s a big piece of advice. Little things that they chip and they have their piece to say something about something. You really focus and listen to what they have to say.”
Another piece of that is former Clemson coach Jack Leggett being back in the facilities. Leggett, who led the Tigers to 21 postseason appearances and six trips to the College World Series, will be working for Bakich, though exactly what Leggett’s title will be on staff has still yet to be determined.
Bakich recently told The Clemson Insider he envisions the 68-year-old Leggett helping with “total program development” primarily in an off-field capacity.
“He’s been a great addition,” Bertram said of Leggett. “Him, Bakich and ( assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator Nick) Schnabel, they all attack the day. They have that high-energy attitude and (Leggett) coming in, it’s been no change. If anything, he’s picked it up too. He’s done a great job coming in and obviously, the buzz around Clesmon baseball is even better having him on the staff and his legacy here.
“For him to come back after everything he’s done in his career, to join back here and to come back to Clemson again, it means a lot to us. It means a lot to the players on this team, for him to still fully be bought in with Clemson and try to help us each day and get us back to Omaha.”
Just looking around at the talent that Clemson has not only in its middle infield but on the roster, makes Bertram excited about the prospect of his final season in Tiger Town.
“Oh yeah, a whole lot of talent in the whole infield, even the first base position with some depth there as well,” he said. “It’s so early. We’re taking it day by day. I feel like everybody in the infield with Coach Schnabel, everybody’s getting better day by day. There’s a lot of talent there. When it all comes said and done and whoever’s there, it’s gonna be great. Everyone in that infield, they’re great dudes and some of my good friends. As a matter of fact, I’ve spent a lot of time with (Benjamin) Blackwell. He’s shown me the ropes a lot and he’s been a good influence on me.”
“There’s just so many good players around us,” Bertram continued. “That’s what you want. You want that depth. It might get you to Omaha, but it’s gonna get you that extra step and it’s gonna get you on top of that mountain.”
Despite a coaching change and some roster turnover, there’s a reason that Bertram followed Bakich to Clemson. He not only believes in his philosophy as a head coach but in his ability to run a program. Regardless of the outside perception, Bertram is ready to compete for a College World Series.
“When we got here and you see all the talent that’s around us and this whole team, there’s one goal in mind,” Bertram said. “There’s no sugarcoating it. It’s one goal. We’re gonna try to get better each day and our goal is to get to Omaha and then have success in Omaha. That’s our goal and we’re gonna keep nailing that in. That’s what we’re gonna believe and that’s what we’re gonna work for.”
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