After adding four transfers within the past week, Erik Bakich and Clemson Baseball haven’t slowed down on their recruiting, gaining 1B/OF Ty Dalley, a power-hitting machine on Tuesday night.
He entered the portal just over a week ago and caught a lot of looks from high-major schools after having an extremely impressive three years to start his collegiate career at Mercer, going down as one of the best in their program’s history.
Reigning out of Vidalia Comprehensive High School in Georgia, Dalley was one of the top players in his state and on the national level, ranking as the No. 9 first baseman prospect nationally and the No. 37 player in his state, per Perfect Game.
He made his mark as a freshman on the College Baseball scene, playing in all 58 games and smashed 18 homers to go with 56 RBIs while batting .259 with a .366 on-base percentage. Not to mention he played outstanding at first base, finishing the season with a .995 fielding percentage and 395 putouts — also ranked second in his conference for double plays with 41.
Dalley’s first-year campaign earned him honors as a 2023 Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American, as well as selections to the SoCon All-Freshman Team and SoCon All-Tournament Team.
The Georgia native followed his initial season up with an even stronger one in 2024, leading his team at the plate in every major statistical category. He finished the season with career-highs across the board of 71 hits, 21 homers, 71 RBIs and 18 doubles while batting .316 and having an OPS (On-Base + Slugging) of 1.082.
The 6-foot-4 infielder showed up when it mattered the most for the Bears, hitting .417 in the SoCon Tournament, accounting for 10 hits, four home runs, three doubles and nine RBIs — earning him All-Tournament Team honors in consecutive years.
His dominant sophomore season earned him 2024 All-Conference First Team by Media and Coaches, as well as being named a Top 300 MLB Prospect by Perfect Game.
Heading into his third year at Mercer it was safe to say the expectations were high as D1Baseball named him SoCon Preseason Player of the Year and many Bears fans were betting on Dalley to have another great year.
Considering how amazing of a year he had previously, he wasn’t able to obtain the same numbers but nevertheless played a great season and led Mercer in the SoCon Tournament further than they’ve been in his first two years with the program.
Dalley finished the 2025 season hitting .273, recording 67 hits, 19 home runs, 45 runs, 61 RBIs and 20 doubles. Defensively, the 215-pound slugger had started out great at first baseman his freshman year, but had slowly transitioned to primarily outfield by his junior season, playing just nine games at his original position in 2025.
He finished off his historic career at Mercer as the all-time home run leader (57) and earned All-SoCon First Team honors yet again.
While he’s eligible for one more season of College Baseball and is committed to Clemson now, let’s just hope the MLB Scouts and Draft talk doesn’t get in his head too much.
