GREENVILLE, S.C. — Since the start of the 2025 season, Aidan Knaak has been the Friday night guy for Clemson.

As the ace, Knaak has been a staple in the rotation going back to his freshman season, when he held down the Sunday spot for much of the season.

However, when the No. 14 Tigers open a four-game weekend series against LaSalle on Friday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium, it will not be Knaak on the mound. The junior right-hander is getting the weekend off.

Head coach Erik Bakich was quick to shut down any speculation that something might be wrong with his ace, maintaining that this was always in the cards.

“We are going to have Aidan Knaak skip a start this week,” Bakich said. “Just something we had planned back in the summer. Nothing is wrong with him.”

Bakich and pitching coach Jimmy Belanger are taking a little bit different approach this season in an effort to ensure the best pitchers are as fresh as possible for the stretch run. Part of that plan also included not having Knaak throw in any intra-squad scrimmages in the fall. And it sounds like he won’t be the only starter to get a weekend off at some point during the season.

“It was just more a part of our master plan of giving guys modified pitch counts and built-in rest to make sure we are surging at the end of the year,” Bakich added. “So this will be his weekend to skip a start.”

In his place, freshman Dylan Harrison will get the nod. The right-handed hurler has been fantastic over his first two appearances. Harrison has made one relief appearance and one midweek start. He currently has an ERA of 1.23 and a WHIP of 1.13 across 7.1 innings with four strikeouts and two walks.

Bakich also mentioned the possibility of having Dane Moehler back this weekend. After suffering an elbow injury just before the start of last season, Moehler has yet to pitch for the Tigers. Talan Bell and Drew Titsworth could both see their pitch counts relaxed a little this weekend.

With four games scheduled against LaSalle, which includes a doubleheader on Saturday, there should be no shortage of opportunities for many of the pitchers on the staff.

“Dylan Harrison will make a spot start on Friday, in place of Aidan,” Bakich said.

“We also have Dane Moehler rolling back on. Talan Bell and Drew Titsworth will have their pitch counts elevated as well.”