Clemson baseball has landed two transfers since the season came to a close. One of those is former Georgetown infielder Andrew Ciufo. The Big East talent entered the portal in March after undergoing a procedure that sidelined his final season for the Bulldogs.

Before the process, Ciufo had the Tigers as his top program to join and sure enough, they called. The New York native told The Clemson Insider about how this relationship grew.

“The more research I did, themore I realized that Clemson was the perfect fit for me. When Clemson reached out to me, I instantly started building my relationship with Coach Schnabel,” Ciufo said. “Coach and I worked out a weekend for me to fly down there and spend a few days in Clemson, where I caught a few games against Notre Dame, hung out with the guys, and saw all the amazing things Clemson had to offer. There are many factors that brought me to Clemson, but I’d say that the biggest one was the culture of the team and the way the players and coaches play the game.”

Ciufo had already watched Clemson before the transfer portal, and he valued how the community perceived the program and the way players are able to reach their full potential for the Tigers. Looking back into the program’s history, Ciufo had found his home.

“Another thing that brought me to Clemson is the opportunity for me to come in and make an impact on the success of such a historically great ACC program. The opportunity to be a part of such a distinguished legacy is something that I’ve always dreamed of, and I couldn’t be more excited to get down there and get to work with the guys,” Ciufo said.

The history is a part of it, but similiarly to the commitment of Matthew Marchal, head coach Erik Bakich’s early succcess was a huge key to the decision. The first-time ACC champion is already building momentum on the recruiting trail, and Ciufo is the latest to display it.

“Coach Bakich’s track record of building winning programs definitely drew me into Clemson, but I started becoming passionate about Clemson before they were having a lot of success this season,” Ciufo said. “After building my relationship with Coach Bakich and hearing his passion for Clemson, and what the future is going to look like for the team and program, I knew I wanted to be a Tiger.”

Photo courtesy of Georgetown Athletics.