Clemson Tigers Baseball Receives Strong Preseason National Rankings

The Clemson Tigers are coming off a great season and hope to build on that as they try to return to the Men’s College World Series.

Jun 2, 2024; Clemson, South Carolina, USA; Clemson sophomore Cam Cannarella (10) watches a ball go by him on a pitch from Coastal Carolina University during the bottom of the eighth inning of the NCAA baseball Clemson Regional at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson. / Ken Ruinard-Imagn Images

The Clemson Tigers’ men’s baseball team is coming off a trip to an NCAA super regional last spring — and hosting the Savannah Bananas just a few months ago.

But the fun is over and it’s time to get to work. Two respected publications believe the Tigers are heading for big things in 2025.

With the regular season just a month away, Baseball America published its “Way Too Early” Top 25 rankings for Division I baseball. Meanwhile, Perfect Game released its preseason rankings.

Baseball America is quite high on the Tigers, ranking them No. 4 after they went 44-16 with a 20-10 record in the ACC. Perfect Game, meanwhile, has Clemson at No. 8.

The Tigers haven’t been to the Men’s College World Series since 2010, and coach Erik Bakich is hoping to change that.

Any conversation about Clemson starts with outfielder Cam Cannarella, a senior who was named an all-American last season and is considered by most to be a first-round pick in July’s MLB draft.

He was a highly productive part of the Tigers’ offense last year. He batted .337 with 16 doubles, three triples, 11 homers, 60 RBI and 58 runs. He had a .417 on-base percentage in 58 games. He also led the team with 29 multiple-hit games as he secured status as an All-American.

In his two-year collegiate career, Cannarella has batted .363 with 32 doubles, six triples, 18 homers, 107 RBI, 130 runs, with a .440 on-base percentage and 24 steals in 117 games.

He had offseason surgery for a torn labrum and revealed that he played the season with the injury after suffering it on the campaign’s opening weekend.

Pitcher Aidan Knaak is also back after an all-America campaign. He was also named National Freshman Pitcher-of-the-Year by NCBWA after he went 5-1 with a 3.35 ERA in 15 starts. He struck out 108 and walked 29 in 83.1 innings, giving up just 67 hits and allowing batters to hit just .221 against him.

He was second in the nation among freshmen in ERA, strikeouts, strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.72) and WHIP (1.15).

The Tigers also pulled significant talent from the transfer portal and signed one of the best recruiting classes in the country in an effort to build up their roster for a run to Omaha.

Clemson will head to Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, to open the regular season on Feb. 14 to play in the Shriners Children’s College Showdown against Oklahoma State, Arizona and Ole Miss.