Sam Russ – Syndication Server

Sam Russ helping connect Clemson’s ‘special’ softball team with NIL opportunities

At the Dear Old Clemson event held on Saturday, Aug. 27, the Clemson softball team signed memorabilia and met with fans as a NIL opportunity for the team. As a representative and liaison for the team, graduate student and former member of the team …

At the Dear Old Clemson event held on Saturday, Aug. 27, the Clemson softball team signed memorabilia and met with fans as a NIL opportunity for the team.

As a representative and liaison for the team, graduate student and former member of the team Sam Russ takes a lot of pride in what the event meant to softball and women’s sports as a whole.

Russ, who spent the first four years of her college career at N.C. State transferred to Clemson for her fifth and final year of eligibility. Russ led the ACC with a program record of 29 stolen bases and was an ACC All-Academic in 2022. Russ is currently completing her MBA at Clemson but felt so connected to the team she knew she had an opportunity to create something special alongside the team.

“I knew the team was something special, as good as it was in such a short amount of time,” said Russ. “How close we were to going to the World Series in just our third year, I knew in year four we had some big things planned.”

Russ is working with Dear Old Clemson as a former athlete advisor for the softball program.

In doing so, Russ is helping connect her former teammates with lucrative NIL opportunities that can not only build their brand as a player, but help them after their softball career is over.

She described Dear Old Clemson as an organization that makes these opportunities for athletes possible.

“Dear Old Clemson is an amazing opportunity for these girls to get involved in NIL money,” she said.

Russ has the goal and initiative to create equal opportunities for NIL for women’s sports and by assisting the softball team she hopes to make a true impact on the athletes’ lives and the opportunities they receive.

“You see male-dominated teams really impacted from this and take this to their advantage,” said Russ. “You see how popular softball is in the Clemson area and it can have an impact as well and can really provide benefits for these girls.

“It’s amazing to see the support and how many people truly appreciate Clemson softball and they want to come to meet these girls and get their autographs because they look up to them,” said Russ. “They look up to these girls, these girls are their role models.”

Dear Old Clemson looks to do NIL “the Clemson way” and Russ takes great pride in the team and their feats on the field, but also the growth of each of these girls’ brands and the promotion of women’s sports as a whole. NIL at Clemson can impact the lives of the members of the team, but also can create a standard for other women’s sports across the college landscape.

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Family connection makes Clemson Regional even more special for Russ

Sam Russ has never played in the postseason. That’s why she came to Clemson. As the Tigers are set to host the first-ever Clemson Regional this weekend, it’s even more special for Russ and her family. Her father, Frank, was a starter on the first …

Sam Russ has never played in the postseason.

That’s why she came to Clemson.

As the Tigers are set to host the first-ever Clemson Regional this weekend, it’s even more special for Russ and her family. Her father, Frank, was a starter on the first Clemson baseball team to host a regional in 1980.

“It’s so exciting,” Sam said. “The fact that he got to host Clemson’s baseball’s first-ever regional and then I get to host Clemson’s softball’s first-ever regional, is so exciting. My mom also went here, so I grew up a huge fan of Clemson and going to all the football games growing up. It was always my dream school, so it’s so exciting to get to come back here and play for my last year.”

“I did not know about her dad.” Clemson coach John Rittman said Thursday. It’s a situation with the transfer portal, names get in the portal and you start doing research…Obviously, there was a connection there and we have an MBA program and that’s what Sam wanted to study and earn her master’s degree.”

Rittman said that Clemson knew that Sam was a terrific player because they played against her last year when she was still at N.C. State and they knew what she was capable of.

“She’s fast, can steal bases, hit for power, hit for average and cover a lot of ground in the outfield,” Rittman added. “It was a great fit for our program and luckily she chose Clemson to work on her masters and play that extra year.”

This season, Sam leads the ACC with a program-record 25 stolen bases.

“At one point I was hitting behind her and it was awesome,” redshirt sophomore infielder Alia Logoleo said. “She would get on first and I knew that first pitch, she’s on second. So, it was really kind of stress off your shoulders because you know if she gets on base, she’s taking that next one almost automatic.”

The process of getting into Clemson wasn’t as quick as she is.

Sam had to get accepted into the MBA program at Clemson before the Tigers could officially sign her.

“The MBA program here at Clemson is huge, especially for internship opportunities,” she said, “and that’s what I was looking to do. Their admissions process was still open, so it really kind of fit perfectly into what I was looking for.”

Shortly after entering the transfer portal, Sam got a call from a phone number she didn’t recognize.

“Obviously, I was very excited when I picked up the phone and saw that it was him on the line and that they were potentially looking for an outfielder for the season,” Sam said. “It was really just my dream school calling me.”

When Sam informed her dad of her decision to attend Clemson for her final season of eligibility, Frank was “over the moon.”

Funny enough, they were on a father-daughter trip to the College World Series. That’s when she called Rittman to confirm that she would be spending her final season in Tiger Town.

The rest is history.

Five years of collegiate softball under her belt and Sam will finally have the chance to play in the postseason starting Friday,

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Rittman, Cagle, Russ, Guimbarda, Logoleo preview Regional

Excitement is building at Clemson as the Tigers prepare to host their first ever softball regional. Following Thursday morning’s practice head coach John Rittman, Valerie Cagle, Sam Russ, Marissa Guimbarda and Alia Logoleo met with the media. Watch …

Excitement is building at Clemson as the Tigers prepare to host their first ever softball regional.

Following Thursday morning’s practice head coach John Rittman, Valerie Cagle, Sam Russ, Marissa Guimbarda and Alia Logoleo met with the media.

Watch the press conferences on TCITV:

Clemson softball moves past Liberty in walk-off fashion

Clemson softball (16-6) walked off with an extra-innings win over Liberty at McWhorter Stadium in the third game of the Tiger Invitational. Following a win earlier on Sunday against Illinois the Tigers were hoping to finish the day 2-0 with a win …

Clemson softball (16-6) walked off with an extra-innings win over Liberty at McWhorter Stadium in the third game of the Tiger Invitational.

Following a win earlier on Sunday against Illinois the Tigers were hoping to finish the day 2-0 with a win over the Liberty Flames. This was the teams’ first match-up of the Tiger Invitational. The Flames came into the game winless on the weekend, after they suffered two losses to Illinois earlier in the weekend.

Kyah Keller’s pinch-hit two-run single capped off a 5-4 win for the Tigers.

Led by Sam Russ (1-2) and Marissa Gumibarda (2-4), Clemson pounded out 10 hits in its latest win.

“Every win is special,” Clemson softball head coach John Rittman said postgame. “We are still such a young program-its a milestone that means a lot to our program because we have really been a winning program since day one. We continue to grow, we continue to improve, our leadership, our culture is great and that’s what means more to me than anything on the field.”

In the bottom of the first, Russ hit a bomb to right field — her first home run as a Tiger — to give Clemson an early 1-0 lead.

“It felt great, I was going up there just free-swinging, and she happened to come in on me which is my favorite- I was excited for that, and I just put a good swing on it,” Russ said following Clemson’s win over Liberty.

Clemson dealt with some defensive woes, which enabled the Flames to jump out to a 3-1 lead. The Tigers made a pitching change in the top of the fifth, bringing in right-hander Brooke McCubbin.

Behind McCubbin (3-1), Clemson’s defense was able to keep the Flames from adding any more to their lead, but could not capitalize on offense.

In the bottom of the sixth, Guimbarda hit a double to right-center field giving the Tigers a much-needed momentum shift. Arielle Oda came in to pinch run for Guimbarda. Bailey Taylor later hit a single to center field that advanced Oda home and narrowed Liberty’s lead 3-2.

McCubbin shut down Liberty’s offense in the top of the 7th allowing only 1 hit and striking out 2 hitters.

Valerie Cagle does what she does best, in what was a time of need for the Tigers.

In the bottom of the seventh inning with two outs, Cagle hit a single to left-field, which advanced Russ home to tie the game.

In the top of the eighth, Courtney Poulich was placed on second for the Flames due to the International Tiebreaker rules used in tournament play. K.C. Machado’s sacrifice-fly scored Pulich, which gave Liberty a 4-3 leading heading into the bottom of the inning.

With two outs and two runners on bases, Keller stepped up at-bat as a pinch hitter for Maddie Moore.

Keller hit a single up the middle bringing two runners home to give the Tigers a narrow victory over the Liberty Flames by a score of 5-4 and ended a great day at McWhorter Stadium.

Clemson finishes out play in the final game of the Tiger Invitational on Monday, March 14th at 4 p.m.

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Softball Week 3 in Rewind: Rittman, Tigers rack up five wins and many firsts

The Clemson softball team walked away from another full week of competition last week, adding five more wins to their record along with being named tournament champs of the Clemson Classic at McWhorter Stadium in Clemson. The Tigers began play last …

The Tigers began play last week with a midweek matchup, traveling to Charlotte, N.C. to take on the 49ers. Thanks to a monster two-run bomb to left field in the fourth inning by graduate Marissa Guimbarda, Clemson came away with the 5-2 win over Charlotte, handing the Niners just their second loss of the season. In the circle, Millie Thompson earned her first win of the season with three strikeouts in 3.2 innings of work.

Following the win on Wednesday, Clemson opened up play at McWhorter Stadium for the 2022 season with the Clemson Classic. On Friday, the Tigers faced two opponents in Boston University and St. Francis, shutting out both teams 8-0 and 2-0, respectively, and securing Clemson’s spot in the championship game on Saturday.

Bright spots for Clemson on Friday included redshirt sophomore Alia Logoleo’s walk-off, two-run homer in the fifth to earn the run-rule win over Boston University, and sophomore righthander Regan Spencer pitching her way to her first career complete game in the circle versus the St. Francis Red Flashes.

Into the final day of competition for the Clemson Classic, Clemson took the field against Akron early Saturday afternoon, coming away with a 10-5 win over the Zips. En route to their fifth straight victory, freshman Brooke McCubbin earned the win in the circle along with Valerie Cagle getting her second save of the season in relief.

Both McKenzie Clark and Aby Vieira had a stellar game for the Tigers versus the Zips. Clark recorded the program’s first inside-the-park home run, going 4-for-4 at the plate and scoring three runs, while Vieira earned her first collegiate grand slam of her career.

Clemson faced Boston University once again Saturday evening in the Clemson Classic championship game. The Tigers jumped ahead early versus the Terriers with a 1-0 lead in the first, but Clemson blew the game wide open in the third, ultimately coming away with the 7-3 win and overall tournament victory thanks to freshman Maddie Moore’s two-run homer to left field, the first of her collegiate career. Lefthander Millie Thompson earned her second win of the week in the circle versus Boston University with four strikeouts in 5.2 innings.

“Great weekend for the Tigers,” head coach John Rittman told the media on Saturday. “Doubleheader each day, obviously we’re thrilled with the sweep both days and coming out with the tournament championship. A lot of great things happened this weekend in our program. I thought we made some growth in a lot of areas. Number one, our pitching did really well this weekend. I think tonight Millie [Thompson] didn’t have her A stuff, but just went out there and competed like she always does and got the victory. Brooke [McCubbin] came in, in relief and did well.

“Offensively, a lot of things happened this weekend, a lot of people stepped up in different situations. Tonight, in particular, Marissa Guimbarda, Sam Russ, Valerie Cagle with the big hit there late to give us an insurance run. Very pleased with our performance and a lot to build on for this upcoming week.”

Up next, the Tigers host Gardner-Webb for a midweek matchup on Tuesday, March 1, at McWhorter Stadium in Clemson with first pitch scheduled for 5 p.m. Clemson opens up ACC play later in the week with a three-game weekend series versus No. 7 Virginia Tech. Game one is scheduled for Friday, March 4, at McWhorter Stadium with first pitch set for 5 p.m.

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Clemson looks to garner even more success in year 3

In its third-ever season, Clemson softball is looking to add yet another winning season to its name. Head Coach John Rittman’s squad enters the 2022 season following a 44-8 overall record, 29-5 ACC record, and an ACC Regular Season Championship in …

Clemson returns a roster that made a combined 430 starts in 2021, most notably housing a dual-threat in ace Valerie Cagle, who became the first-ever player to earn both ACC Player of the Year and ACC Freshman of the Year honors within the same season.

Following a stellar 2021 campaign, Cagle was named to Team USA’s U-18 Junior Women’s National Team roster this off-season, competing in the World Baseball Softball Confederation U-18 World Cup in Lima, Peru and the Junior Pan American Games in Barranquilla, Columbia.

In addition to Cagle returning to the circle this spring, Clemson retains key players in the circle in RHP Millie Thompson and lefty Logan Caymol as well as veteran power at the plate in Alia Logoleo, outfielders Marissa Guimbarda and McKenzie Clark, and infielder Cammy Pereira.

With the departures of Ansley Gilstrap and Casey Bigham following last season, the Tigers acquired eight new faces including a two-time All-ACC player in NC State grad transfer Sam Russ.

In her four seasons with the Wolfpack, Russ held the all-time record for career stolen bases with 103 and has the single-season record for stolen bases with 32. Russ’ father, Frank Russ, played baseball at Clemson as an infielder from 1980-83 and was a four-year starter for the Tigers.

Clemson softball opens up the 2022 season on Thursday, February 10, with the FGCU Kickoff tournament in Fort Myers, Fla., the start of an eight-game away stint. The Tigers’ home opener at McWhorter Stadium comes February 25 with the Clemson Classic. Out of Clemson’s 53 regular season games this spring, 28 will be played at McWhorter Stadium in Clemson, S.C.