Riley Bertram has no shortage of postseason experience as he heads into his first NCAA Tournament with the Clemson baseball team.

A first-year graduate transfer from Michigan, Bertram has plenty of postseason success under his belt as well. In 12 NCAA Tournament games with the Wolverines, including nine starts, he hit .405 with three doubles, four RBIs, five runs, a .500 on-base percentage and two steals.

Bertram also has experience on the biggest college baseball stage, having played in the 2019 College World Series as a freshman when Michigan made it to the championship series. Now, in 2023, the graduate senior infielder has all of that NCAA Tournament experience to lean on and draw upon as he tries to help the Tigers make a deep run in this year’s tournament.

“Absolutely, to be there on the road and in the tournament and to see how anything can change at really any time, so it definitely helps to be there in the past,” Bertram said. “But this is a different group of guys with strong work ethic, and I’m excited to see what they do.”

On Monday, the Tigers were selected to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 seed in the Clemson Regional at Doug Kingsmore Stadium and No. 4 national seed. Clemson (43-17) faces No. 4 seed Lipscomb (36-24) in their opening game, while No. 2 seed Tennessee (38-19) and No. 3 seed Charlotte (34-26) round out the regional field.

The Tigers certainly have a ton of momentum on their side entering the regional as winners of 16 straight games, including all four ACC Tournament games this past week as they captured their 16th ACC Championship and 11th ACC Tournament title (and first since 2016).

Clemson has won 26 of its last 29 games, and the Tigers’ 16-game winning streak is their longest since winning 17 games in a row in 2006. First-year head coach Erik Bakich’s team hopes to carry over that momentum to the NCAA Tournament, but at the same time, they’re approaching it like a clean slate.

“The past month or so with this team, it’s been special. It’s been fun to really just create that momentum and to see the circle get tighter as we approach postseason baseball. It’s been special,” said Bertram, who hit a go-ahead three-run homer — his first long ball as a Tiger – in Clemson’s 11-5 victory over Miami in the ACC Tournament championship game on Sunday.

“But with all that success, it’s a refresh,” Bertram continued. “We’re 0-0, and we’re obviously going to try to build off that momentum but have the right mindset going into the regional.”

The Tigers will make their 45th NCAA Tournament appearance, fifth most in NCAA history, and are looking to make their first Super Regional and College World Series appearances since 2010.

Clemson opens the double-elimination regional against Lipscomb at 1 p.m. Friday on ESPN+.

This marks the 17th time since 1980 that Clemson hosts a regional and first since 2018.

“It’s always a special moment, especially this one, to know the history at Clemson, to really bring baseball back to DKS and postseason baseball,” Bertram said. “The last weekend here against North Carolina, to see the fans starting to get into it – we’re excited.”