Bakich Compares Sophomore Hurler to ‘Bolt of Lightning’
By: Jason Priester October 28, 2025

Among some of the younger pitchers to stand out for Clemson during fall ball, sophomore Dion Brown was one of the most impressive.

The 6-foot, right-handed hurler got his feet wet last season, appearing in four games while pitching 2.1 innings. He allowed two runs on four hits, with control being one of his biggest issues, as he walked five of the 15 batters he faced.

However, Brown now appears to be a different player. He is visibly bigger and stronger, while adding a lot of velocity to his fastball that topped out at 97 mph during the fall. He struck out five in three innings of work during intrasquad scrimmages that The Clemson Insider attended. More importantly, he has much better control, only walking one hitter.

Brown did hit a batter in his one inning of work in the exhibition against Alabama on Saturday, but he came back to strike out a hitter while holding the Tide scoreless.

“He’s just like a bolt of lightning,” head coach Erik Bakich said after the exhibition win over Alabama. “Exposiveness comes in all shapes and sizes. You don’t have to be a 6-foot-8 Caden Grice, you can be a 6-foot Dion Brown.”

Brown was routinely in the 94-96 range during the intrasquads, but at the same time, he’s also really improved with the control of his other pitches.

“The ground force energy that he harnesses and the way that he transfers it out of his arm, pound for pound, he is probably our most explosive dude. Because he has topped out at 97 this fall, he touched 96 (Saturday).”

With pitching depth being one of the weaknesses on the team last season, Brown’s emergence is coming at just the right time, and his name is worth watching in the Tigers’ bullpen in 2025.

“Pound for pound, the energy that he can generate into a throw is very impressive,” Bakich said. “Not only is that impressive, but the development of his secondary stuff.. He’s got a breaking ball and a good changeup. It is going to be his ability to throw those three pitches, but I can envision a guy like that pitching a lot for us this year. He’s made such a big jump.”