CLEMSON – The word “Omaha” has been scattered around Clemson’s practices, uniforms, and media outings for decades. 

Ahead of the 2000 season, former Clemson baseball head coach Jack Leggett added the word in script font to the back of the Tigers’ hats, nestled inside of the iconic Paw. Leggett’s message with the hats was simple — every time Clemson stepped on the diamond, they did so with the intention of reaching the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.

That mindset extends beyond the hats (which are still worn each year), to the practice fields. Each year, the Tigers compete in the “Omaha Challenge,” a team-building series held at the end of fall practice, reinforcing the same goal — getting to Omaha is the standard.

In the last three seasons under head coach Erik Bakich, that standard has remained a priority.

“Clemson baseball will be back in Omaha,” Bakich said at the conclusion of last season. “That is going to happen, but in the same breath, you have to earn it every day. You have to earn it in August, September and October and every single day because how you get there, there are so many different ways to get there, but it is going to happen with this team.”

However, despite deep postseason pushes, the Tigers have fallen just short of their ultimate goal in three consecutive years, after losing in Regional tournaments at Clemson in 2023 and 2025, and in a Super Regional against Florida in 2024.

Now, after three years of being close enough to Omaha to smell the funnel cakes and popcorn, the mindset has shifted.

Bakich and his group are no longer talking about “Omaha.” This time around, they are simply “being about it.”

“From the 90s to the early 2000s, you could not talk about the top of college baseball without mentioning Clemson,” Bakich said. “If you played on the team from the mid 90s to 2010 in a four-year cycle, everybody went to Omaha during that stretch, right? And now it’s been an equal amount of years since then has passed and nobody’s been. So, enough’s enough. Enough talk.”

While the Tigers are not verbalizing their chase for Omaha as frequently, the preparation needed to get there remains the driving force.

“We’ve missed it enough years in a row that, ‘hey, let’s just do what it takes from a preparation and execution and a staying healthy standpoint to just be about it and it’ll take care of itself,’” he added.

“We’ve got as good a shot as anyone else in the country to get there. It’s all going to be determined by who gets hot at the end. And we want to be one of those teams like everybody else. But we’re done talking about this, that, and the other thing related to Omaha until we’re actually standing at a podium in Omaha.”

In the 1990s and 2000s, as Bakich mentioned, Clemson advanced to the College World Series seven times. During one of these trips in 2002, Bakich served as a volunteer assistant under coach Leggett, along with the ranks of assistant coaches Tim Corbin – now the head coach at Vanderbilt – and Kevin O’Sullivan, current head coach of the Florida Gators.

Bakich later returned to Omaha in 2019, as the head coach of a Michigan Wolverines team that advanced to the championship series.

According to junior pitcher Aidan Knaak, Bakich’s experiences, and mindset, have already permeated the locker room this season.

“When you show up to the facility, when you show up to the field every day, the weight room, just bring that energy and just be about it,” the right-hander said in a Tuesday press conference.

“Being about it” might just be the words worthy of Clemson’s hats this year.

The Tigers have their first opportunity to showcase their new mindset Saturday, when the Alabama Crimson Tide will come to town for a 12-inning scrimmage. The game entitled the “Fall Ball Fan Fest” will include backfield games, food trucks, and Tiger baseball, according to the team’s social media. Admission is $10 for the general public and free for students. 

Fans can expect the same snacks and entertainment found in Omaha, but will most likely not hear the name mentioned. This season, its absence may just be more powerful.