Coming out of high school, Bryce Clavon seriously considered joining Erik Bakich’s program at Clemson.

Clavon was not only ranked as the 13th best shortstop in the 2024 recruiting class, but he was also one of the top players regardless of position. While the Tigers were certainly in it, he chose to stay in state and sign with Georgia.

Now, after spending one season with the Bulldogs, Clavon is transferring to Clemson. Once he entered the portal, Bakich was intent on landing the player he’d originally missed on.

“Clemson called me that Thursday, when I first hit the portal,” Clavon told The Clemson Insider. “Then I visited on Friday. I felt like it was just the right school to be at.”

During his one season in Athens, Clavon went 5-for-15 with one double, one triple, one home run and two RBI in 27 games, including one start. While he certainly doesn’t regret signing with the Dawgs, he is now looking for a fresh start.

“Being a Georgia guy, having a chance to play in your state and play in front of everybody that you know,” Clavon said. “Being easy for the family to get to games and I believed that I was going to have a really big opportunity to play there and be impactful.”

While Clavon was primarily recruited as a shortstop the first time around, he is capable of playing multiple positions, including the outfield.

When he first visited Clemson as a high school prospect, Clavon feels he didn’t firmly grasp the culture that Bakich was building. On his recent visit, though, he felt it, and he knew Clemson was where he wanted to be.

“My first visit, I feel like I didn’t get a real grip on how (Bakich) is as a coach,” Clavon said. “I kind of knew a little bit. But the second time around, I feel like things were clear.”

“Bakich is a really different type of guy and coach, like in a great way. The culture that he’s building there, the team, the camaraderie, all those are big things that ended up helping in the long run. Even outside of baseball. Me and Bakich talked a decent bit about baseball, but a lot of our talks were about the mental side, and life. Those areas. So it was deeper than baseball.”

One thing Clavon does remember from his initial recruitment was that Bakich and Clemson came after him hard. And the Tigers did so again as soon as he hit the portal.

“They came to my football games, they did a lot of recruiting that other schools weren’t doing,” Clavon said. “Other teams were on me entering the portal, but it just wasn’t the same as Clemson. That coaching staff and kind of knowing what they have going on, it’s definitely something I want to be a part of.”

Now, not only does Clavon get his fresh start, he also gets an opportunity that he didn’t get as a freshman at Georgia. Clemson has numerous holes it must replace in a lineup after earning the No. 11 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and hosting a regional for the third time in three years, and Clavon is confident he can come in and make an instant impact.

“I am just blessed to be a Tiger,” he said. “Let’s get the Tigers back to Omaha.”

Photo courtesy of Bryce Clavon on X (formerly known as Twitter)