Team 128 is set to begin their spring training season this weekend to prepare for a season with high expectations. The Clemson baseball team will head to Arlington, Texas, to compete in the Shriners Children’s College Showdown from Feb. 14-18.
The Tigers have two returning 2024 All-Americans: sophomore Aidan Knaak and junior Cam Cannarella. Cannarella batted .337 with 11 home runs, 60 RBIs and a .561 slugging percentage over 58 games in 2024. He had two highlight-reel moments in game 3 of the Super Regionals that put him on the radar of many MLB scouts and news networks.
Cannarella underwent surgery in July to repair a torn labrum he played the entirety of the season with. “I would say 85% right now,” Cannarella replied when asked how close he felt to 100%. “But I feel like in three weeks, when we start, I’ll be out in center field.” He was limited in what he could do last season, including stealing bases. “Yeah, this year… trying to go 30-plus (stolen bases).”
According to D1Baseball, Cannarella is the No. 4 prospect for the 2025 MLB draft.
The other 2024 All-American, Aidan Knaak, had one of the best seasons by a freshman pitcher in Clemson history. The right-hander went 5-1 with a 3.35 ERA and 108 strikeouts, which were the most strikeouts by a Clemson freshman in history. Knaak became the first Tiger freshman pitcher to earn a First-Team All-ACC selection since 1997.
“I added a couple new pitches,” Knaak announced Thursday. “Two-seam, and then added a cutter so just being able to utilize different sequences this year will definitely, I feel, help my game and you know, get into those later innings.”
Aidan Knaak
When asked if Clemson’s pitching staff is enough to get them to Omaha, Knaak replied “Oh yeah, for sure, 100%.”
Knaak is the No. 14 ACC prospect for the 2026 draft in the preseason rankings by Perfect Game.
Erik Bakich will be entering his third season as Clemson baseball’s head coach. He has led the team to 88 wins, and his 68.2 winning percentage against ACC teams since 2023 is the highest in the ACC.
Over the offseason, Clemson watched a few players head to the MLB draft, including Blake Wright, who posted a .340 batting average and 22 homers last season. Bakich praised new transfer Luke Gaffney, who is expected to fill the gap left by Wright. Gaffney, a sophomore coming from Purdue, hit .359 with 13 homers and 64 RBIs in 53 games in 2024.
“When you have gaps to fill and holes to plug, and you know we lose 70-something home runs and need some instant offense, the transfer portal—and guys who have done it at the Power Four level and have those credentials—makes you feel pretty good about the impact they can have.”
Erick Bakich
Bakich has coached five All-Americans and has had eight Tigers drafted under his reign.
Clemson was one of six programs to total 44+ wins in both 2023 and 2024, and one of five programs selected as a regional host for the NCAA Baseball Tournament in back to back years.
The 2024 Tigers finished with a 44-16 record and ranked as high as No. 9 in the nation, their best finish since 2010. They secured their first regional title since 2010 and hosted the Clemson Super Regional in June.
Their 1.8 home runs per game (109 total) was the second-highest mark in school history, and the team’s .513 slugging percentage was its best since 2022.
The 2025 schedule includes 33 home games, with the ACC tournament returning to Durham, N.C., for the first time since 2023, where the Tigers won the tournament championship. Clemson will make their home debut against Presbyterian on Feb. 19 at 4 p.m.
