Two days following the transfer of Mercer star 1B/OF Ty Dalley, Clemson Baseball gets their Cam Cannarella replacement in Western Kentucky transfer Ryan Wideman.
Similar to Dalley, Wideman is an absolute slugger at the plate and consistently delivers while fielding — cementing himself as a MLB Prospect.
However, the 6-foot-5 center fielder has had an interesting journey leading up to this point as he actually started as a pitcher.
Coming out of the 2022 class, Wideman was primarily a right-handed pitcher, ranking as the No. 200 prospect nationwide and the No. 63 prospect out of Georgia, per Perfect Game. This being said, he decided to take the Junior College (JUCO) route and commit to Georgia Highlands College in efforts to eventually transfer to a Division I program.
His freshman year immediately saw him have a knack for hitting rather than pitching, only making one appearance on the mound, pitching for two strikeouts in one inning. From the plate he finished the season with a whopping .435 batting average, smashing seven homers, 15 doubles and three triples. He also recorded six stolen bases, foreshadowing future records he’d break.
While he had a stellar start to his JUCO journey, earning All-American honors as a freshman, he wasn’t done just yet.
His sophomore campaign was just as dominant, if not more, as he put up 15 home runs, 24 doubles and five triples while batting .414 on almost 70 more at-bats in comparison to his freshman season. But his biggest development was by far his base running, accounting for 48 stolen bases — sixth most nationally. Not to mention he had a 1.000 fielding percentage with 112 putouts in 114 total chances.
His absurd numbers at the JUCO level earned him All-American honors yet again, leading to the decision of him transferring to a higher level, that being Western Kentucky in Conference-USA where he’d make a huge impact on the program in just a singular season.
Some might think he’d take some time to adjust to the Division I level, even possibly struggling with the transition, right? Well, Wideman wasn’t going to have that happen.
As a first-year transfer at Western Kentucky, Wideman helped lead the Hilltoppers to their first Tournament appearance since 2009 behind his 10 home runs, 20 doubles, six triples and 68 RBIs. Nationally, he finished the season ranked No. 19 in batting average (.398) and No. 5 in hits (97).
While they would unfortunately lose in their regional appearance, it wasn’t able to take away Wideman’s historic impact on the program, breaking Western Kentucky’s single-season record of 41 bases stolen with 45 — ranking No. 5 nationally for the 2025 season.
His performance over the course of the season earned him Conference-USA Newcomer and Player of the Year. He also was named an NCBWA First-Team All American, a Perfect Game USA Third-Team All American and a D1 Baseball Third-Team All American.
Last but not least, he was ranked as the No. 4 most impactful JUCO transfer in 2025 and the No. 74 MLB Draft Prospect of the Top 150, per D1Baseball.
If you can’t tell by now, the 6-foot-5, 215-pound outfielder has translated his ability at every level from high school to JUCO to now Division I, and I don’t see how anything changes from here. Bakich has an eye for talent and definitely found a diamond that can shine in Doug Kingsmore for the 2026 season.
