Re: 1-year portal players for key positions

Southeasterntiger · 2025-06-12T11:27:53.603Z

Feels like plugging holes in a sinking ship. You’ve got to constantly plug the holes. Doesn’t appear that Bakich and Brownell are building programs. Rather, they’re trying to keep the ship from sinking. More so than football, these are sports that freshmen can come in and make a difference. I guess it’s easier to buy than it is to recruit. Seems to be a hard way to build a program made to last.

1-year portal players for key positions

RREnglish

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Jun 12, 2025, 10:04 AM

To be fair Bakich is bringing in guys with 3 years of eligibility left for development, so I wouldn't necessarily say plugging holes on a sinking ship. I don't think a single transfer outside of Clavon was recruited out of high school, so having them play 2-3 years before graduating makes them a lifelong Tiger in my opinion (technically they could play as many seasons as Cam did).

A third of the transfers this past season were seniors, and so far this portal season 2/6 have one year left. One more rising sophomore is likely to join, raising it to 5/7 guys with 3 years left. The two seniors they brought in at this point are likely to be drafted, so we could potentially have 5 guys (as of 06/12) with 3 years left to develop at Clemson.

I think some teams go overboard with incoming transfers, but Bakich is bringing in players that fill holes only. Everyone wants trips to Omaha but complains about the journey and teambuilding it takes to get there. There's still 2 1/2 weeks until the portal closes, but nobody of note has actually transferred out of the program this year. The biggest hit was Bissetta maybe, but if he wants a chance going to the next level, he has to find somewhere with consistent playing time. The entire core of the roster is still here and ready to compete to play next year, hopefully taking Clemson back to Omaha. Out of everyone who got at least one at bat, Bissetta is the only one to transfer out, that's a 92% retention rate (which increases if you include all hitters).

This year was the most transfer-heavy roster, and that's simply because 2/3 of the lineup graduated or transferred out last year. On the pitching side, the only transfer to get significant playing time was Mahlstedt, and even he was here two years. Out of 22 pitchers who pitched at all, 4 were transfers, meaning that pitching was pretty much all homegrown talent. Even then our pitching struggled, suggesting bringing in better pitching is in order.

I think we as Clemson fans get spoiled to the football team and the incredibly high retention rate they have. However, they are 100% the exception and not the rule, and even Dabo recognized we needed help from the portal and brought in three talented players to slot in. Freshman can absolutely make an impact in baseball, but you can't win in the postseason with all freshman, they just don't have the experience needed to win it all.

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Re: 1-year portal players for key positions

1-year portal players for key positions