Rittman's young Tigers turned their season around to new heights after rough start

Kylee Johnson was the home run hero in the seventh to put Clemson on top before securing the program's first ACC title.

David Hood - Senior Writer - Sunday, May 11 2025

A season that once seemed on the edge was turned around by a group of young players who played with an edge of their own.

Clemson defeated Florida State 2-1 behind a two-run home run in the top of the seventh inning by Kylee Johnson at Harrington Athletics Village in Brighton, Massachusetts, to clinch an automatic berth in the NCAA softball tournament Saturday.

The Tigers were able to cross off a bunch of firsts despite the success of the young program. The ACC Softball Tournament championship is the first in program history for the Tigers. The win was also the first for Clemson over FSU (Clemson was 0-7 against FSU heading into the game), and it was the first time the Seminoles had lost in 2025 when they held a lead through six innings (30-0) heading into the game.

The comeback was nothing new for John Rittman’s squad - Clemson also won in a comeback on Friday in the semifinal after trailing Virginia Tech 9-2 entering the sixth inning. The Tigers used an eight-run inning to claim the 10-9 victory.

Clemson will look forward to Selection Sunday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2) to see where it will go in the NCAA Tournament, potentially earning a top-eight national seed.

The Tigers entered the season wondering what life would be like without superstar Valerie Cagle, who had been with the program since its inception. Centerfielder McKenzie Clark was another key cog that had moved on, and Clemson stumbled out of the gate.

A 3-2 loss to Ole Miss in the season opener and a loss to FAU in the third game led to a 1-2 start. Clemson was 3-2 heading into the Shriners Children's Clearwater Invitational in Clearwater, Fla., and promptly dropped three consecutive games to SEC teams – a 10-6 loss to Missouri, a 6-3 loss to Auburn, and a 7-6 loss to Kentucky. The Tigers then lost to UCF to fall to 3-6 on the season, and it was evident this was a team that would endure some growing pains.

The Tigers then reeled off a 15-game winning streak and won the opener of a big series against Duke before losing the last two. The Tigers were sitting at 18-8 and the season could go one of two ways. It went upward as Clemson closed out the season and the ACC Tournament by winning 26 out of their last 30 games.

The moment that Rittman and the players have pointed to as a possible turning point came in mid-April at McWhorter Stadium. The Tigers trailed No. 12 South Carolina 1-0 heading into the sixth and the Gamecocks were cruising.

But freshman Marian Collins hit the game-tying solo home run in the sixth and hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to secure the 2-1 upset victory against the arch-rival Gamecocks.

The win showed Rittman’s young team that it could beat good teams, and it could come from behind to do it. That worked in the Tigers’ favor in the ACC Tournament – Clemson trailed in the sixth inning in each of the final three games.

The Tigers have earned one of the 16 regional host sites and could be a Top 8 national seed to host a Super Regional if they win the regional (RPI of 11 after Saturday per WarrenNolan). If they keep playing with an edge, anything is possible.