Softball Recruiting: Tigers starting to attract the blue-chip prospects

John Rittman's Clemson softball program has enjoyed plenty of early success and is looking to build on it with recruiting.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sun May 29 08:00:06 GMT-04:00 2022

CLEMSON – Clemson softball recruiting is earning attention from the blue-chip prospects.

The Clemson softball team just finished its third season and it’s a program ahead of schedule. In two full seasons, John Rittman’s squad has earned two different NCAA Regional invites, hosted a NCAA Regional, and played in a Super Regional. The Tigers have also won an ACC regular-season championship.

Not bad for a program that didn’t exist before it was announced in 2017.

Rittman has relied on transfers through the first three seasons – players like Cammy Pereira, Marissa Guimbarda, and even Sam Russ have all provided a spark. But recruiting will be the lifeblood of any program, and TigerNet sat down with Rittman to discuss that very topic recently.

“Since we started the program, we've had a lot of interest. Obviously with 12 scholarships, you've got to comb through all the talent and all the kids that are interested,” Rittman said. “And it's one of the toughest jobs as a college coach is to say, ‘No.’ But we're at a level now where we can be a little bit more selective. And obviously, the blue chips are starting to pay attention. I think last weekend (the home NCAA Regional sweep) was huge for us. And it'll probably pay dividends for us in the recruiting in the next couple of years.”

How much time do the coaches spend on the road and how do they make sure they see prospects in person?

“Well, there's a couple of things that we utilized in recruiting,” Rittman said. “No. 1 is our network. No. 2 is our camps. And then No. 3 is, the travel ball tournaments. And there's a lot of showcase tournaments out in the country, and between the three of us that are allowed to recruit, we put in a lot of mileage over the summer and the fall.”

Clemson’s last recruiting class – in November – featured just one player in Marena Knowles of Perry (GA) Westfield.

"Marena is a very talented and dynamic athlete. She is an outstanding hitter and has the versatility to play first base, third base, shortstop or in the outfield,” Rittman said. “We will probably use her at all of those positions. She’s very athletic and multi-deminsional. Her work ethic and God-given talents will be put on display here at Clemson. She’s very long and can run the bases very well.”

Knowles led her Westfield Lady Hornets to its fifth consecutive GISA State Softball Title last season. As a sophomore, Knowles posted a .494 batting average, 11 doubles, two triples, eight home runs and 46 runs batted-in. As a junior, she posted a .598 batting average and a 1.184 slugging percentage. Knowles hit 11 homeruns, 67 runs batted-in, 10 doubles and four triples last season.

Why just the one signee?

“That's where we're at in our program. COVID gave everybody an extra year of eligibility and then we've saved some room in case there's a transfer in the portal that might fit a need for us,” Rittman said. “And that's something that we will utilize moving forward as most softball programs do.”

Rittman then said that NIL is quickly becoming a player in softball recruiting.

“Certainly, as coaches, we stay out of that. But I know it's part of the recruiting process and it's an interesting time to be a student athlete,” Rittman said. “And obviously everybody knows that the footballs and the basketballs are probably going to attract a lot of the NIL stuff, but I think we have some student athletes that are going to take advantage of it as well.”