Clemson moves up to Top 5 spots in two national polls

Clemson leads the ACC after 12 games. (file photo)

Brandon Rink - Assoc. Editor / Staff Writer - Monday, April 07 2025

Clemson baseball moved up two spots into the Top 5 of two national polls after a weekend sweep of Cal.

That places the Tigers at No. 4 with D1Baseball and No. 5 with Baseball America. D1Baseball has Arkansas on top followed by Texas and LSU, while BA has a top quartet of Arkansas, Texas, LSU and Tennessee.

They join Perfect Game in Top 5 spots for the Tigers, which slotted Erik Bakich's group back to No. 3 overall this week behind Arkansas and Texas.

Baseball America's weekly recap: "Clemson breaks into the top five in the wake of a 4-0 week in which it defeated Georgia Southern and picked up a hard-fought sweep over California. The seventh inning was the 'magic inning' for the Tigers this weekend, as on both Friday and Sunday it scored the game-winning run in their half of the frame. Dominic Listi’s two-run double was the difference-maker in the series-opener, while in the finale Luke Gaffney came through with a go-ahead sac-fly. Clemson’s bullpen was nails all weekend, and four arms combined to throw 6.1 shutout innings. The Tigers return home this week to take on Gardner-Webb before a series against a reeling Stanford."

As referenced, the Cardinal head East for the second time in three weekends on a nine-game ACC losing streak. The series has a spot on linear TV for all three games, beginning with a 6 p.m. ESPNU start Friday (6 p.m. ACCN on April 12; 3 p.m. ACCN on April 13).

The Tigers (30-5, 9-3) lead the conference on winning percentage (.750) but Georgia Tech owns the most ACC wins currently after a sweep of the Cardinal (11-4). Florida State (8-4) and Louisville (8-4) are tied behind that duo. At 8-7 in conference action, UNC is the ACC's next-highest ranked team at No. 8, according to Baseball America. FSU is No. 9 with D1Baseball.

In ACC stats, the Tigers are up to No. 2 in strikeouts (349) and No. 4 in team ERA (4.44). Aidan Knaak is fifth in strikeouts (61) and wins (5) and eighth in opposing batting average (.196). Lucas Mahlstedt maintains his league-lead in saves (11; he was tied for the nation's lead last week but NCAA stats aren't updated yet).

Dominic Listi is third in on-base percentage (.522), walks (35) and hit-by-pitch (15). Listi is joined in the Top 10 HBP by Jarren Purify (7th; 10) and Andrew Ciufo (10th; 9). Purify's name is among the ACC leaders in triples (4th; 3), sacrifice flies (6th; 5) and stolen bases (7th; 14). Josh Paino has cracked the Top 10 in RBIs (10th; 36).

Clemson in the Top 25 (Monday a.m.)

Perfect Game: 3 (prev. 4)
D1Baseball: 4 (prev. 6)
Baseball America: 5 (prev. 7)