The Clemson Tigers have a big offseason in front of them after failing to reach Omaha for the 15th straight year, with 2010 being their last appearance in the College World Series. Erik Bakich is now going into his fourth season with the program and needs to find a way to get over the hump. Bakich knows this and complained about hearing the stat “Clemson baseball hasn’t been to Omaha since 2010,” when it was brought up in his postgame press conference after Clemson’s loss to Kentucky.
“We got it. We know. And we’re going to do everything in our power to get there,” Bakich added, expressing his frustration with Clemson’s College World Series drought.
Clearly, Clemson’s goal is to make Omaha every year, but the question is, what does Erik Bakich have to do to get his team there?
Pitching, Pitching, Pitching
In my opinion, pitching is the most important component that Clemson needs to address. Top-tier programs have a multitude of arms that can throw mid to upper 90s while the Tigers don’t have that luxury. With the addition of Ariston Veasey, who can throw up to 98 MPH, Clemson seems to be addressing this issue so far in the portal. When asked about what the program needs to do to get to Omaha, Bakich said pitching was a key issue.
“I know this: Pitching covers up a lot of things. The postseason recipe will always be pitching, defense, and timely hitting.” Erik Bakich went on to add that Clemson needs more “shut it down” relievers.
If Clemson can add more power pitchers to their roster to accompany arms like Talan Bell, Dane Moehler, and Aidan Knaak, either in the rotation or out of the bullpen, they should be able to set themselves up for success come postseason time.
Power Hitters a Must for Omaha
Along with a need for power pitchers, Clemson also needs power hitters. This season, Clemson only hit 73 home runs, which was tied for eighth in the ACC with Virginia Tech. The Tigers slugging percentage (.448) was also subpar, as they were tied for 12th in the ACC with Miami. The five teams still in contention from the ACC finished from second to seventh in home runs, excluding Georgia Tech who were knocked out in the Regionals and finished fourth. Hitting more home runs than the opposition and hitting for a higher slugging percentage significantly increases a team’s chances of making a run in the postseason.
Erik Bakich agreed with this notion in his final press conference of the season saying that Clemson needs more batters who can “change a game with one swing.”
During last year’s transfer portal window, Bakich made it a priority to go after power bats, as he brought in Collin Priest and Luke Gaffney from his former conference. With Priest and Gaffney returning for next season, Bakich needs to expand on his portal pickups from last year.
Cam Cannarella Replacement(s)
With Cam Cannarella entering the MLB Draft in July, Clemson needs a new center fielder, and one that can provide a spark at any moment. The Hartsville, South Carolina native was the engine of this Clemson team for the past three seasons, tallying a career .360 batting average, .453 on-base percentage, and .551 slugging percentage in his time with the Tigers. Not only was Cannarella the best player on the field for Clemson, he was always the most fired up, with the exception of Dominic Listi.
Although Cannarella was a superstar at Clemson and was one of the preseason favorites to be the Golden Spikes winner this season, a trip to Omaha alluded the program during his time at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
Erik Bakich expressed his dissatisfaction with Clemson’s ability to reach Omaha during Cannarella’s time with the team saying, “ (I’m) very disappointed that Cam Cannarella doesn’t get to play in Omaha. That’s a guy that comes around every blue moon and a special talent like that, you want to see him shining brightest on the biggest stage. I hate that for him.”
So the question becomes, if the Tigers can’t get to Omaha with one of their best players in program history, then how are they going to get there without him? My answer is: replacing him by committee (think about the movie Moneyball).
Clemson is not going to be able to find a player in the transfer portal or out of high school that can tally the same numbers as Cam Cannarella. So when Erik Bakich and his staff go to replace Cannarella, they have to find multiple players who can fill in and produce, just like the 2002 Athletics did when they lost Jason Isringhausen, Johnny Damon and Jason Giambi.
Bakich may try to go after players from smaller schools like he did with Dominic Listi and Josh Paino, or he could try to poach from larger conferences like he did with Collin Priest and Luke Gaffney last portal season. Whichever route Clemson goes, they have to find a committee of players who can fill the huge shoes that Cam Cannarella has left empty.
Stronger Transfer Portal Class for Erik Bakich
There were pros and cons to last year’s transfer portal, with players like Dominic Listi, who led the team in on-base percentage (.507), Collin Priest, who crushed 12 home runs, having a positive effect on the team. But other transfers struggled in their first year in Tiger Town, as Josh Paino scuffled in the final weeks of the season, Michael Gillen couldn’t stay healthy, and Luke Gaffney lost his starting spot to freshman TP Wentworth late in the year. For the Tigers to make Omaha next season, they need a much stronger transfer portal class than last year.
As Erik Bakich said during his press conference after Clemson had been knocked out of the regionals, Clemson needs more “good players.” Last season’s portal class was very hit or miss when it came to bringing in “good players.”
As I said earlier, a good portal class for Clemson, in 2025, starts with pitching, power bats, and a multitude of players who can help replace Cam Cannarella’s production. This offseason is one of the most critical during Erik Bakich’s reign so far, and he needs to get it right if he wants to get rid of the stat that annoys him the most, “Clemson baseball hasn’t been to Omaha since 2010.”
