Reed Rohlman remembers father, leads Tigers into tourney

Rohlman has been one of Clemson's most consistent players this season

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Fri May 29 08:01:02 GMT-04:00 2015

Reed Rohlman Reed Rohlman
RS Fr. Outfielder
#26 6-0, 210
Moore, SC
View Full Profile quietly put together one of the better seasons for a freshman in Clemson baseball history in 2015, and his efforts on the diamond helped the Tigers earn an invite to the NCAA Tournament and the Cal-Fullerton Regional that starts today in California.

Rohlman has 26 RBI in his last 15 games, and he hit a team-high 370 on the season with a team-best 57 runs batted in. He’s even batting .400 with 17 RBIs against teams ranked in the Top 25. It doesn’t stop there – Rohlman has batted .379 on the road this season to lead all Clemson hitters and he’s hitting a team-best .360 at home.

As a result, Rohlman was named a third-team All-American, becoming the second Tiger freshman ever and first since 2005 ( Taylor HarbinTaylor Harbin
Student Assistant Coach
View Full Profile ) to be an All-American.

Rohlman’s father Erik passed away last August – right before Reed started school at Clemson – but Erik’s presence is never far from Reed on the field.

“Of course. Every time I go up to bat, that's what I'm thinking about. It's comforting,” Rohlman told TigerNet earlier this week. “It's not a bad feeling. He's in my mind the entire game in the outfield. It's nice. It's a good feeling knowing he's still here watching me.”

Rohlman is lucky in that he has had friend and teammate Steven DuggarSteven Duggar
Jr. Outfielder
#9 6-2, 195
Moore, SC
View Full Profile on hand to lend advice or just listen when needed – Duggar has also dealt with the passing of a father and the two were teammates growing up and at Byrnes High School.

Rohlman said he is just happy that he gets to experience a Regional with his friend by his side.

“It's awesome. We've been talking about this since we were fourteen years old - coming to play here and it's awesome to have him in the outfield with me and me finally getting to be out there with him, like we've always talked about,” he said. “It's awesome having him here to kind of talk to when I need him because that is how it's been my entire life.”

The two players’ moms have also grown close and lean on each other for support and it has led to an even better relationship with Duggar.

“Yes they are (about the mothers). That's a big thing,” Rohlman said. “That's why I'm so thankful he's (Duggar) here because with my dad's passing he really kind of took me under his wing because he has been through it. Our mothers have gotten a hundred times closer through it all but it's really been nice having him here. He's a big help this year for me.”

Considering all that he has been through in the last year, Rohlman said he just wants to make every moment count this coming weekend.

“I'm just thankful to have the opportunity. It's all still surreal to me, but I'm enjoying every second of it,” Rohlman said. “I most definitely have grown some mentally and physically - playing every day takes a toll - and I didn't know that until now. We got to take things a lot more seriously now, once you realize how tough it is.”

Rohlman said the Tigers will try to take advantage of the “new season.”

“It's a whole new season now and that is what we are excited about,” he said. “The past is the past and now we're looking towards the future.”