There is a lot of excitement in the Clemson baseball program this week. Not only are the Tigers in the process of moving into the new baseball operations center at Doug Kingsmore Stadium, but they are also getting set to start fall practice.

The Tigers will hold its first intrasquad scrimmage on Friday at 4 p.m., and another scrimmage on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

As for the new $9 million facility, it will give the players a brand new state of the art clubhouse and locker room area, while the coaches get new offices, a team meeting room and a conference room. There is also a baseball museum as well as dining and kitchen area.

“It gives you everything you need,” new Clemson baseball coach Monte Lee said. “The lockers are nice. It’s very spacious. You can do all your laundry in that building. It has a pro locker room for the former players to come back and have a place to change, practice and work out with us.

“It has a players’ lounge with a ping pong table and big screen TVs, and it has a full service kitchen, which I think is unbelievable. We can feed the team there after practice, after games and we can have alumni functions in that building. Then the coaches’ offices are at the top and they are as nice as any offices I have ever been in.”

Lee says opening up the new facility, along with a new era in Clemson baseball, brings the entire baseball family together at the same time.

“I’m concerned, really, with how it impacts the players. How it impacts recruiting,” he said. “I want it to be a place where former players can come back, look and see the history of Clemson baseball and see what they had a part in, too, when it comes to all the College World Series Appearances, the ACC Championships, the first-round draft picks, the Big Leaguers … I want all of those teams and individual players to be recognized in some shape, form or fashion in the building.

“I think we will get there.”

Again, the two biggest impacts the new baseball operations center will make is the functionality that will be made available for the current players, and the influence it may have in recruiting.

“We can truly walk the kid through the facility,” Lee said. “We have not had that experience, yet. We have been able to walk some kids over and let them stick there head in and see parts of it. But now that it is done, it will have a huge impact for the 2017 class because we are not done with some of those guys, and the 2018 class it will have a huge impact.

“We will be able to walk those kids into the building now and show them what it is all about.”

As for the guys that are already here, Lee welcomes back 25 returning players on Friday, including All-ACC catcher Chris Okey, All-ACC outfielder Reed Rohlman and All-ACC shortstop Elli White.

“We are excited about getting out there and seeing what we can do,” Lee said. “It’s going to be fun.”

Fall practice continues through November and concludes with three Orange & Purple scrimmages from Nov. 6-8.