CLEMSON – The Clemson Insider takes a deep dive into Clemson’s ACC opponents for the 2025 college baseball season.

This year’s Duke baseball team should be a good ball club under head coach Chris Pollard. Its left-handed bats and pitchers are going to have an important role in this 2025 campaign.

STRENGTHS:

This year’s lineup is projected to involve five left-handed bats and a switch hitter highlighted by Jake Hyde and AJ Gracia. The top four candidates for the starting rotation spots for Duke are all southpaws with plus stuff. The Blue Devils, top to bottom, has a lot of quality production on the mound.

QUESTION MARKS

A right-handed heavy lineup could possibly give Duke troubles with its starting rotation seeing the Blue Devils have a lot of left-handed arms. In the 2024 season, teams were .300 OPS points higher against lefties Andrew Healy and James Tallon, so it is up for interpretation on how teams will fare this year. Duke will lack long ball potential that was achieved in 2024 hitting for 115 total home runs, so Pollard understands his team is going to have to find ways to manufacture runs in a different way.

TOP NEWCOMERS

Graduate transfer Jake Hyde from Georgetown was one of the top bats available in the portal. He hit 48 homers in three seasons while at Georgetown. The coaches in the fall referred to him as Babe Ruth because of his left-handed power swing that should add some serious thump to the middle of the Blue Devils’ lineup. Ben Rounds and Jake Berger, both transfers from Harvard, look to take up some serious time in the lineup. Two freshmen to look out for are Max Stammel and Henry Zatkowski, the coaches are saying not to be surprised when one of these guys claims a starting role.

—photo by George Walker IV / USA TODAY Network