Open wound fueling Clemson baseball's preparations

Erik Bakich has to watch from the hotel for the first two games after his protests in Clemson's 2024 finale against Florida.

David Hood - Senior Writer - Wednesday, January 29 2025

An open wound provided fuel during the offseason for Clemson baseball.

Clemson advanced to its first Super Regional since 2010 last season but lost to Florida in an electric and hotly contested series in June. As the Tigers watched the Gators celebrate a trip to Omaha on the field at Doug Kingsmore Stadium, the wound opened. And it has stayed open.

“I think every season that doesn't end the way you want it to leaves a little bit of an open wound and a scar and you learn from it and grow from it,” head coach Erik Bakich said “So yeah, I think our guys, it's a very fresh taste in their mouth still and has fueled a lot of our offseason training and fuels our preseason training to take that next step and not fall short. So, it's been a great thing. It will end up being a great thing and we'll see. We've got to go out there and earn it. But I like the mindset of the returning players who experienced that loss in the Super Regional and how it's fueled them so far this offseason.”

Bakich and company added pieces to the lineup through the transfer portal.

Sophomore Luke Gaffney, who transferred from Purdue and can also contribute behind the plate, is a candidate to start on the infield. Another sophomore, Collin Priest, is a transfer from Michigan who showed his power potential in the fall. Senior Dominic Listi hit .324 with a .464 on-base percentage in 59 games in his lone season at Indiana State in 2024.

Junior Jacob Jarrell is the only returning Tiger with significant experience as a catcher after making 17 starts at catcher in 2024 and hit .289 with six homers and 24 RBIs as a team co-captain and one of the strongest and hardest workers on the team.

Two Tigers who saw significant time as starters in the middle of the infield in 2024 return in 2025. Senior Andrew Ciufo was the starter at shortstop before he suffered a season-ending injury at midseason. He hit .280 and did not commit an error in his last 21 games. He also hit a walk-off homer to beat No. 12 South Carolina on March 2.

Sophomore Jarren Purify took over as the starter at second base in 2024. Sophomore Tryston McCladdie will compete for a starting spot after showing promise late in the 2024 season, when he led the team in games off the bench (13).

Junior Cam Cannarella returns in center field as one of the best offensive and defensive players in the nation in 2025. The 2024 All-American is a career .363 hitter with 18 homers, 107 RBIs and 24 stolen bases in 117 games. He is the No. 4 college prospect for the 2025 draft in the preseason, according to D1Baseball.

Bakich likes the strength of his team, especially up the middle with Jarrell, Purify, Ciufo, and Cannarella.

“Well, I think on any team, you just look at who the returning starters are and just kind of try to fill in the gaps from there. So we're fortunate to be strong up the middle,” Bakich said. “We've got Jacob Jarrell returning and he's really solidified himself as our No. 1 catcher heading into this preseason and into the season. And he's earned it and he's done a great job of leading the other catchers and really separating himself.

“And then we've got a couple of returning starters up the middle with Purify and Andrew Ciufo and obviously Cam in, and we've added pieces around all of them that can also play the middle, but can also play to the left and to the right and feel really good about our depth. But we feel especially good knowing that we're returning the right positional starters that are really going to help fuel the championship in a deep playoff run.”