Clemson Tigers Baseball Transfer Touted as 'Middle of the Order' Bat

The Clemson Tigers’ baseball team had several mentions in Baseball America’s latest Top 100 transfer portal rankings.

HYANNIS 07/10/24 Infielder Luke Gaffney of Falmouth. Cape League baseball / Ron Schloerb/Cape Cod Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Clemson Tigers made college baseball’s super regionals and should be a program that is able to retain and take in top transfers.

Well, the Tigers found themselves mentioned four times in Baseball America’s Top 100 transfer portal rankings now that fall classes have started around the country.

The problem? Only one of the players ranked is coming to Clemson.

That player, former Purdue first baseman Luke Gaffney, was ranked No. 30. He was the highest player ranked with a Clemson connection.

The other three were players that transferred away from Clemson in the offseason. That included outfielder Nathan Hall at No. 37, third baseman Nolan Nawrocki at No. 82 and pitcher Billy Barlow at No. 96.

Hall and Nawrocki both transferred to in-state rival South Carolina, while Barlow ended up at Florida, which beat Clemson in the super regionals.

Gaffney is one of two Big Ten transfers joining the Tigers, along with Michigan infielder Collin Priest. But the former Boilermaker is coming off a huge redshirt freshman season that saw him named Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Big Ten All-Freshman Team, Second Team All-Big Ten and NCBWA Second Team Freshman All-American.

He slashed .349/.437/.628 with 15 doubles, three triples, 13 home runs and 65 RBI. He struck out only 34 times and walked 29 times.

The Danville, Ky., native set six Purdue freshman records — hits, home runs, RBI, total bases, slugging percentage, runs scored. He also tied the program’s single-season record for runs with 62.

Baseball America wrote that Gaffney “…has impressive power to the back side and will be a high-impact, middle-of-the-order bat.”

Hall has had a great season while playing in the Cape Cod League this summer, as he slashed .333/.400/.413 slash line with seven RBIs and seven stolen bases. He only managed 22 at-bats for the Tigers last season, but Baseball America likes his ceiling to be a heavy contributor to the Gamecocks next year, writing that “…he has a chance to take the SEC by storm.”

Nawrocki should be fully recovered from the wrist injury that limited him to a season that saw him slash .264/.352/.400 with nine extra-base hits, 24 RBI and 11 stolen bases.

Barlow posted a career-low 4.28 ERA in 48.1 innings for the Tigers last season. He heads to a Gators team that is set to return its weekend rotation, so he will have to compete for chances to shine.

Clemson went 44-16 last season winning the Atlantic Division title in the ACC and claimed the No. 6 overall seed in the country in the NCAA Tournament.