Erik Bakich says Clemson baseball is 'energized' to take next step

Erik Bakich will have to serve his two-game suspension to start the season in Arlington.

Grayson Mann - Staff Writer - Thursday, October 10 2024

CLEMSON - For Team 128, class is back in session.

Erik Bakich and Clemson Baseball have begun their version of offseason training camp, taking to the classroom last week, and will start to put it all together for Fall Ball.

Bakich spoke to the media for the first time as the 2024-25 campaign slowly approaches. He spoke on injury updates to the team, what he learned from Team 127, and much more. Here’s what we observed.

*Starting with Cam Cannarella, Bakich says Cannarella is trending towards being “full-go” for the start of the preseason in January.

He added that the junior, who had surgery on his right shoulder in July, will start hitting towards the end of the fall, with base running coming shortly after.

Shortstop Andrew Ciufo is in the final stages of his rehab, having his debut season in Clemson cut short to a knee injury. Bakich noted that while physically, he isn’t fully cleared to go, his leadership and impact off the field have been tremendous.

*Bakich has been hot on the recruiting trail all summer, and he detailed that to the media on Wednesday.

He mentioned that he’s been working on recruiting donors to build strong NIL funds for this program, hoping that his continued success on the field will draw more attention to his ball club.

Bakich also went to work in the portal, adding players like Big Ten Freshman of the Year Luke Gaffney. He also swayed talent like Dominic Listi and Collin Priest to join his program.

*When it comes to Bakich’s approach in the fall, he’s focused on building leadership and instilling the foundations of his philosophy that have made past iterations successful.

“The fall is when we try to put the target less on evaluation,” Bakich said. “We're not determining roles in the fall. Instead, it's more about development and we tell our guys that we're not deciding the starting lineup in October and November. This is more for you guys to push your limits, test your boundaries, make it about growth, and try to set PRs (Personal Records) in the fall with the things you can do on the field and not worry about the results as much.”

*Something that has also occupied his mind has been the legacy of last year's Super Regional team. Within his sales pitches to donors and players to the portal, he’s relayed how strong the community at Clemson rallied around his team when they needed it most.

“The legacy of Team 127 was how they rallied the community,” Bakich said. “And we asked the community to get rowdy and make this place hostile. And the environment here exceeded all expectations. And it just goes to show you that the lesson learned is that the community is not only behind Clemson Athletics, as we all know, but really behind Clemson baseball, which was shared in the excitement with us. We got to help create a memory for everybody. And so many good memories were made; even though we fell short of our ultimate goal, it was still an awesome atmosphere.”

Bakich recalled an offensive timeout during the regional and doesn’t exactly remember the Xs and the Os he drew up.

He saw the bright lights of hundreds of phones swaying as the team stopped in awe of a concert-esque environment to the tune of “Don’t Stop Believing.”

"We were going to bunt or something, but we just didn't even do the play,” Bakich said. “We were just watching the concert that just impromptu unfolded. I mean, those are the organic, authentic, amazing moments that you remember forever. And when you have a fan base behind you like that, that's what happens. So I think our team is energized to take that next step and keep making these memories together.”

*Bakich attempted to appeal his two-game suspension following the game two loss to Florida back in June. The Tiger head coach described the attempt as throwing up a shot and having it blocked back in your face.

As to who is going to fill his role, it appears assistant head coach Nick Schnabel will be assuming head coaching duties in Bakich’s absence.

*Moving back to the depth his portal acquisitions bring, Bakich says they are “good problems to have.

Bakich said his group has no shortage of talent from the neck down, but what is above their shoulders will make all the difference.

Priest and Gaffney, like Bakich, have ties to the Big Ten. He was asked if he had any ties with high school recruitment from his time at Michigan.

He was familiar with Priest’s game but was introduced to Gaffney for the first time when it came to portal recruitment. Bakich believes he has a player in Gaffney who can play multiple positions.

“He plays first, catches third and outfield, so yeah, he's already asked if he could have four gloves, so we might have to have to get him four gloves,” Bakich said. “He can play four different positions. But yeah, he's a hitter first, but he is a good enough athlete where he's good at first and catching. You can put him at third if you need to. You can undoubtedly stick him in left if you need to, but he's a guy who's proven it with the bat and had a good summer in the Cape, and certainly, a guy we're looking at is going to make an immediate impact in the ACC.”

*Before Bakich signed his extension in the offseason, he was tied to several prominent programs within the coaching carousel rumors.

He talked about his love for Clemson and how he simply wasn’t going anywhere.

“I have the same reverence for Clemson as I do the same feelings as my alma mater,” Bakich said. “It's just that because it's a start, it's a first, I trace everything back to, had it not been for Clemson, it wouldn't have been able to start coaching. And so because of that, there's a high level of loyalty that (I had) no interest in going anywhere else and never did.”