Tigers Face Familiar Opponent to Start Clemson Regional
By: Sam Walters May 16, 2025

CLEMSON – After a victorious run through the ACC Tournament last week, the Clemson Tigers, the No. 11 overall national seed, will host their third regional in their six-year history starting on Friday.

Clemson (44-12) begins their NCAA Tournament journey against No. 4 Clemson Regional seed USC Upstate to kick off the double-elimination bracket, with No. 3 Northwestern facing No. 2 Kentucky on the other side of the bracket.

While Upstate might look like the odd one out, they might be the biggest threat of the regional.

“They’re a competitive team,” head coach John Rittman said Thursday. “We played them last year in the Alabama regional in an elimination game, and it was very close until around the fourth or fifth inning. They won their conference, and it’s a tough league they play in.”

The Spartans come into the Clemson Regional with a 39-14 record, after winning the Big South Tournament last weekend, thanks to a 7-4 victory over Winthrop in the title game. While not in a Power 4 Conference, the Spartans’ skill and strength are not to be disregarded.

“You can’t overlook anybody at this level, they are here for a reason,” Rittman said. “They’re well-coached and a very good team. There is a lot of tradition in their program, so we are expecting a battle with Upstate in that first game.”

The Spartans led the Big South in batting average, hits, runs, RBIs, and many more statistics on their road to achieving dominance over their conference, and their roster is studded with talented players. Utility player Sophia Kardatzke led the team with a .393 batting average, 58 runs and 70 hits, while outfielder Denver Lauer earned a team-leading 58 RBIs.

“It’s a team you cannot overlook,” Clemson pitcher Brooke McCubbin said. “Coach [Rittman] talked about how they knocked out Tennessee in the first round a couple of years ago, so knowing you can’t look over anybody, especially at this time of the year.

“They deserve to be here just as much as we do. They won their conference, we won our conference. We’re all even, and we just have to come out and play our game.”

Clemson and USC Upstate are scheduled to play at 4 p.m.

THINGS TO KNOW

  • Clemson, the 2025 ACC Champions, were named the No. 11 National Seed on Sunday evening during the 2025 NCAA Selection Show. This is the third time in Clemson’s six-year history that the Tigers have been a host and the third time in five postseasons Clemson has hosted a regional at McWhorter Stadium.
  • Clemson takes a 44-12 overall record into the opening game of the Clemson Regional against USC Upstate. The Tigers are 41-6 in their last 47 games.
  • The Tigers take a 1-0 record in the matchup against the Spartans after meeting for the first time at the 2024 Tuscaloosa Regional.
  • Clemson claimed an 8-0 run-rule victory against the Spartans in six innings.
  • Clemson has a .329 batting average. The Tigers also have a .566 slugging percentage and .426 on-base percentage.
  • The Tigers’ pitching staff holds a 2.67 ERA through 365 innings of work with 248 strikeouts.

USC UPSTATE OVERVIEW

  • USC Upstate holds a .344 average with a .510 slugging percentage and .420 OBP.
  • The Spartans have a 2.56 ERA with 253 strikeouts through 342.1 innings.
  • History: The Tigers met the Spartans for the first time in 2024 during the Tuscaloosa Regional.
  • Upstate eliminated Tennessee from the Knoxville (Tenn.) Regional in 2023.

QUICK HITS

  • Clemson has outscored opponents 406-180 this season.
  • Following the Georgia Tech series, Clemson has eclipsed the 40-win milestone for the fourth time in program history.
  • The Tigers totaled 493 hits through 56 games in 2025, including the freshman class contributing 163 of those hits, while returners Alex Brown (74), Maddie Moore (71), Julia Knowler (56) and Aby Vieira (54) add to the count.
  • The Tigers have program records in hits (493), runs (406), RBIs (372), doubles (94), walks (234) and total bases (849) and home runs (80) after sophomore Kylee Johnson hit a two-run bomb to lead the Tigers to their first ACC Championship.
  • Clemson takes a 116 game hit streak into the 2025 regionals that dates back to the UNCG matchup at regionals on May 19, 2023.

TIGERS IN THE POSTSEASON

  • Clemson hosts a regional for the third time in only six years as a program.
  • The Tigers are the No. 11 seed in 2025 after being the No. 10 seed in 2022 and No. 16 seed in 2023.
  • The two previous seasons that Clemson has hosted, the Tigers have advanced to a super regional (Stillwater Super in 2022 & Norman Super in 2023).
  • The two additional years Clemson has made a postseason appearance, the Tigers have gone to the Tuscaloosa Regional.
  • Clemson takes a 9-9 overall record into the 2025 postseason, including 9-5 in regional games.

—Clemson Athletic Communications contributed to this story