Tigers' newest power hitter on Clemson choice: "I want to play with the best"

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Luke Gaffney’s summer ball experience had quite the twist.

Gaffney is currently playing for the Falmouth Commodores, experiencing the camaraderie that comes with a unique part of his baseball career.

He’s currently playing 1B for them, batting fourth within the order, and is considered one of the top hitters in the Cape League.

Behind the scenes, however, Gaffney’s college career was aligning with a new destination.

Announced on Instagram, the sophomore slugger announced he was transferring to Clemson, adding to Erik Bakich’s transfer class.

Gaffney took the Big Ten by storm as a freshman, hitting .359 with 15 doubles, three triples, 13 homers, and 64 RBIs. Gaffney took home the Big Ten Freshman of the Year with such a productive year. He also received second-team Freshman All-American Honors.

After a great start to his collegiate career, Gaffney hopes his decision to come to Clemson allows him to grow by playing the best baseball has to offer.

“I want to play with the best and play against the best,” Gaffney said. “Clemson certainly has some of the best players in the nation, and hopefully, we can make some postseason runs and get to Omaha. We are going to be playing some really great competition along the way, and that was important to me.”

If someone shares that love of competition, it would undoubtedly be Erik Bakich, who made one of the first calls to Gaffney.

Gaffney visited Clemson earlier in June and was impressed with the school’s outstanding ballpark and facilities.

“Everything was awesome,” Gaffney said. “The field is one of the cooler things I’ve seen. The hitting cages and the new lifting place were pretty legit. Everything looked awesome.”

Growing up in Kentucky and playing Baseball in Indiana, Clemson was never front and center on Gaffney’s radar. Despite this, Erik Bakich's strong reputation nationwide ensured the Tigers were never truly far from his mind.

“Growing up, I just watched college baseball,” Gaffney said. “I was able to play with some guys who played with Coach (Erik) Bakich while he was at Michigan. They talked about how they absolutely loved him and the program. Once I learned more about him and his program, you’d be hard-pressed to find somebody with something negative to say about him.”

When it comes to Gaffney’s role on the team, Bakich envisions him as a utility guy who can impact multiple aspects of the game. His primary role will be at first base, but Gaffney will have some time at catcher and 3B, willing to do whatever is needed for the group.

Gaffney was sold on what Bakich has done for Clemson foundationally, but the roster as constructed attracted him as well, and he hopes to add his brand to baseball to the mix.

“Everybody seems to love Bakich and how he runs the program,” Gaffney said. “It seems like a great group of leaders from the coaching staff and it helps that the team is already nasty. I hope I can add some nastiness in there.”

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