Clemson baseball is second-highest rated ACC team in USA TODAY poll: Here's where Tigers ranked
The Clemson baseball team is ranked No. 9 in the preseason USA TODAY Sports Top 25 Coaches Poll.
The Tigers are coming off a 44-19 season that included winning their first ACC Tournament title since 2016.
Clemson is one of six ACC teams ranked, led by No. 1 Wake Forest. Other league teams in the Top 25 include Virginia (11), Duke (14), North Carolina (15) and NC State (16).
In their first season under coach Erik Bakich the Tigers got off to rough start and were 16-13 after 29 games. But Clemson proceeded to win 17 straight games – the program’s longest winning streak since 2006 – before being eliminated from its own NCAA Regional with losses against Tennessee and Charlotte.
“Excited about this team, really because of the players on this team – watching them grow and improve and come out in the fall on a mission,” Bakich said. “That hunger and that drive hasn’t stopped. We have a group of guys who have been very persistent and intent on getting better.
“We see guys that are very driven right now and we want to just keep on this path of steady growth and improvement so we can earn the opportunity to get hot at the end and be one of those teams that is competing to be the last team standing.”
Clemson, which finished 18th in the final USA TODAY Coaches Poll last year, must replace starters at first base, second base and shortstop, including first-team All-American Caden Grice.
But the Tigers do return outfielders Cam Cannarella and Will Taylor – the team’s top two hitters in 2023 with averages of .388 and .362, respectively – and pitchers who accounted for 68% of the team’s starts.
The Tigers have made 12 appearances in the College World Series, but are seeking their first trip to Omaha since 2010. Bakich jump-started his coaching career as a volunteer assistant under Jack Leggett at Clemson in 2002 and the Tigers advanced to the College World Series that year. As head coach at Michigan, Bakich also guided the Wolverines to the College World Series in 2019.
Scott Keepfer covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at skeepfer@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ScottKeepfer
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson baseball ranking in USA TODAY coaches preseason Top 25
