Clemson moves up polls, NCAA Tournament projection after weekend sweep

Clemson could finish as high as a Top 8 national seed now after a sweep of Pitt and opportunity ahead with the ACC tournament.

Brandon Rink · Assoc. Editor / Staff Writer · Monday, May 19 2025

A much-needed ACC weekend sweep gave Clemson baseball some momentum going into postseason play and also in the Top 25 rankings.

The Tigers (41-15, 18-12 ACC) moved up three places to No. 12 with Perfect Game and No. 14 with Baseball America early Monday.

"Clemson hasn’t played a postseason game yet, but it already sits just three wins shy of matching its highest total under head coach Erik Bakich, who posted 44-win seasons in each of his first two years at the helm,” said the outlet. “The Tigers reached the 40-win mark with a road sweep of Pitt, a series that opened with a combined no-hitter sparked by ace Aidan Knaak, who tossed 7.1 innings and matched a career high with 12 strikeouts. Clemson appears built for another deep postseason push, boasting the kind of balance that plays in the summer. Jacob Jarrell, Collin Priest and Josh Paino each reached double-digit home runs, while Cam Cannarella hit .332 and played standout defense in center field. On the mound, Knaak, Drew Titsworth and a steady bullpen trio of Lucas Mahlstedt, Joe Allen and Reed Garris provided consistency from start to finish. The ACC Tournament is up next for Clemson and while it may not drastically affect the Tigers’ postseason positioning, a deep run could still nudge them upward.”

Clemson jumped back into the Top 10 of the RPI (10) and looks to lock down a regional host bid and maybe ascend to a Top 8 national seed spot for potential Super Regional hopes this week. D1Baseball moved Clemson up to a No. 12 national seed in their latest NCAA Tournament projection on Sunday, hosting Alabama, Connecticut and Bryant and opposite a potential No. 5 Georgia Super.

The Tigers earned a fifth seed in the Durham-hosted ACC tournament and will face the Tuesday winner between Stanford and Virginia Tech at 1 p.m. on Wednesday in a single-elimination game.

Heading into tournament action, Clemson ranks 12th in the ACC in slugging percentage (.449) but fifth in runs (403), drawing the third-most walks (331) with the 11th-best batting average (.276).

Pitching, Clemson is eighth in the league in ERA (4.91) with the third-most strikeouts (527) and the sixth-least walks (211). Around the mound, Clemson is fifth in fielding percentage (.976).

Individually, Dominic Listi (.492; 4th) and Cam Cannarella (.473; 7th) rank in the Top 10 in on-base percentage. Aidan Knaak is first in strikeouts (100), fifth in opposing batting average (.208) and seventh in wins (8). Lucas Mahlstedt is still sitting on 15 saves, but six ahead of the next conference peer still.

Clemson in the Top 25 (5/19)

Perfect Game: 12 (prev. 15)
Baseball America: 14 (prev. 17)
D1Baseball: 14 (prev. 15)