CLEMSON – After Clemson’s 14-1 run-rule win over La Salle at Doug Kingsmore Stadium Friday, head coach Erik Bakich was asked about the progress of power hitter Collin Priest.

Priest contributed 12 home runs, 11 doubles, and 52 RBIs last season– his first with the Tigers, before suffering a hamstring injury ahead of the 2026 season.

“He’s still out,” Bakich said postgame. “Probably going to be at least another month. We’re hopeful for middle of April, end of April, but he got it pretty good.”

Priest played his freshman season at Michigan in 2024, starting in 39 games and launching 11 homers for the Wolverines. He maintained a .445 on-base percentage and .279 batting average in 147 at-bats. The Mount Dora, Fla., native transferred to Clemson, reuniting with Bakich, who recruited him to Michigan, ahead of the 2025 season.

As a sophomore, Priest made 54 starts as the Tigers’ designated hitter and three at first base as Clemson advanced to host its third consecutive NCAA Regional Tournament. He was also responsible for 10 multi-hit games and earned third-team All-ACC honors. He is slated as the No. 38 ACC prospect ahead of the 2026 MLB Draft. 

Since a successful season last year, however, Priest has dealt with multiple injuries, including a wrist ailment in the fall. The tweak kept him out of Clemson’s exhibition game against the Savannah Bananas and a scrimmage against the Alabama Crimson Tide in October.

“(Priest) ran into the fence chasing a foul pop up and tweaked his wrist,” Bakich said during fall practice. “It’s not serious, but it’s just one of those things where you miss four to 6 weeks… No surgery, nothing like that. It’s just a sprained wrist.”

After missing over a month of practice in the offseason, Priest suffered the hamstring injury just weeks ahead of the Tigers’ season-opener against Army, making him a victim of an injury and sickness bug that plagued Clemson’s dugout just ahead of the season. 

“Collin Priest pulled his hammy pretty good,” Bakich said on Feb. 10. “He will be out for quite a few weeks. That is a tough one. Guy coming back with big left-handed power.”

Now, a few weeks later, Priest still remains sidelined, as his team has jumped out to a 12-1 record and hit more home runs than at this point last season. In the meantime, he has attacked his rehab program, along with several other Clemson players, including pitchers Jacob McGovern and Dan Margolies, who are both out for the season.

Unlike McGovern and Margolies, however, Bakich expects Priest to return to the field this season.

“He’s just now, advancing through his rehab protocols, but he’s not running yet,” Bakich said. You don’t want to ever come back too soon from a hamstring because it’s a way to have another hamstring relapse. But he’s a tough kid and I hate it for him and I’m sure he hates watching. But that’s a real left-handed weapon to have  when he comes back. He’ll be back this season. It’s just TBD.”