Lee sells 'Clemson experience' to potential MLB 1st-rounders Bubba Chandler, Will Taylor |
Clemson's baseball and football programs have a watchful eye on next month's MLB draft with mutual interest in a couple prospects who can make an early impact.
For the baseball side, North Oconee (Ga)'s Bubba Chandler is a dynamic player both on the mound as a right-handed pitcher and in the lineup and the field as a shortstop. Dutch Fork (SC)'s Will Taylor is regarded as one of the top outfielder prospects in the draft. On the football field, Chandler and Taylor could provide much-needed depth in the QB position behind DJ Uiagalelei after the lone other scholarship QB, Taisun Phommachanh, went down to an Achilles tear in the spring game. Both Chandler and Taylor have garnered multiple top-20 draft projections in the July 11 MLB event, which render slot values ranging from over $4 million on the edge of the top-10 to nearly $2.5 million at the end of the first round. Clemson coach Monte Lee says you can't put a price on the Clemson experience, however, especially the chance to play with two prestigious programs. "I have actually met with Bubba and his family. I've met with Will and his family and I'm going to meet with one of them today. So yes, I am actively communicating with both of those guys and their families and meeting with them face-to-face over the course of this week," Lee said in his season wrap-up Monday. “What’s the right move for them is going to be a family decision. What we try to do, we try to share with them the benefits of the Clemson experience. I mean I don’t know if you can have a better experience than going to school at a school like Clemson, playing in the best football program in the country with Clemson football. And getting a chance to do both is a very unique situation, where you can play football and baseball at Clemson -- I don’t know that there is a price tag on that type of experience. So that's our biggest message to them. “Those guys have a very tough decision to make when you are garnering first-round-type opportunities in the baseball draft — trying to make a decision as to what’s best for your future. But the biggest thing that we’re doing is trying to show them just how great the experience is here at Clemson and what benefits it can provide for them.” More from Lee's postseason wrap-up below:
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