Erik Bakich looks to add Omaha trip to early success

As Bakich's third season in Clemson rages on, one question remains: Can this group get to Omaha?

Grayson Mann - Staff Writer - Thursday, May 01 2025

Erik Bakich just wins.

The Tigers have taken incremental steps in their first three years under his leadership, winning over 40 games in their first two seasons at Clemson.

They have a chance to do it again in their third season. Regular-season wins are one thing, but these teams have always focused on a different prize.

Omaha is the endgame for this group, and last summer, Bakich and his squad got one step closer to that goal, ultimately falling to Florida in the Super Regional.

As his third season in Clemson rages on, one question remains: Can this group get to Omaha?

To decipher this team's caliber among the best in college baseball, D1Baseball's Aaron Fitt joined the Orange Crush Podcast to break down Clemson's chances.

Fitt has been connected for quite some time, dating back to Bakich's time as an assistant coach at Vanderbilt, working under Tim Corbin.

"I've known him since he was a young assistant at Vanderbilt and I was a young writer at Baseball America and I've seen him grind it away," Fitt told TigerNet. "He's always had the it factor, just the way that he could connect with people and the way that he evaluates talent. And then you see him as a head coach, the way he developed talent at Maryland and Michigan, and just watching his career. He's always been a no-doubt guy. This is a star, and now he's at one of the best jobs in the country, and he's doing a great job."

In Fitt's eyes, part of Bakich's star power is the culture that's solidified a very tight foundation. He also believes the Tigers' style suits them well in the postseason, one that pairs with Bakich's gritty nature at the helm.

Clemson's offense hasn't been one to consistently find power and overwhelm the opposition, but its cerebral and patient approach is a strong asset.

"I think they're just really gritty," Fitt told TigerNet. "I think that the offense when it's going good, which hadn't been as much the last two weeks or so, but before that I thought it was a very formidable offense just because they grind you down at the plate with their patience, really, really take a lot of pitches and I think that makes them tough to pitch against him. They're just so selective, they're so disciplined, and they have some physicality, and then they have a lot of experienced guys, older players in that lineup. Even some of the new guys are transfers that have been around, and so I think that again makes them a difficult team to face."

Clemson's growth as a program has continued to draw rave reviews, but for this team, the time is now.

Much like their offense, the numbers won't blow you away on the stat sheet, but the foundation is built to withstand any potential deficiencies in star power.

The Tigers are on a crash course for their third postseason in a row, and hope to break back into the College World Series for the first time since 2010.

Bakich's foundation is strong, but a trip to Omaha would add even more to an already illustrious resume in his Clemson tenure.

"Every year in the preseason, we're doing our top 25, and you look at the roster," Fitt said. "Yeah, okay, they look solid, put 'em in 14, 15, whatever. We know they're going to be better than that. We know they're going to outperform their ranking, but you look at the roster, you're like, oh, okay. I mean talent-wise, you're probably mid-teens. And then lo and behold, you look up and they're number two in the country for half the year. It's just like they tend to do that every year, as they do outperform their talent. It's just a matter of now getting it done in the postseason."