MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. — It’s been a long road back to the pitcher’s mound for Noah Samol, but the redshirt junior is finally fully healthy and carving out a role for himself with the Tigers.
The 6-foot-7 southpaw has put together back-to-back impressive outings in midweek action, culminating in a career-high 3.2 innings in the 3-1 win over College Charleston, which also included a career-high six strikeouts.
After another solid start from freshman Dylan Harrison, Samol came out of the bullpen to start the fifth, with Clemson leading 3-1. Over the next three-plus innings, the Cougars managed just three hits, while Samol did not issue any walks.
“First off, he is an incredibly hard worker, and an awesome kid,” Bakich said. “He is part of our leadership council, well respected on the team. You don’t earn those positions from a leadership standpoint by accident.”
Samol’s path has been littered with obstacles. After beginning his career at Georgia Tech, then transferring to Clemson ahead of the 2025 season, the big left-hander has dealt with multiple injuries. He did make seven appearances last season, but struggled with command. He had more walks than innings pitched, and his ERA was 9.82.
“He’s had some tough injury breaks throughout his collegiate career,” Bakich said. “Starting with the time at Georgia Tech and transferring here, getting hurt, not pitching, pitching a little bit. But it has been little nagging things here and there. He has just stayed positive, stayed a great teammate, kept working, kept improving and now we are starting to see some of the fruits of his labor.”
Despite the small sample size, Samol has looked like a different pitcher in 2026. He notched his first career win against the Cougars on Tuesday. Last week, he threw 3.1 scoreless innings in the midweek loss to Georgia Southern. He allowed just two hits.
In eight total innings, across three appearances, Samol has yet to walk a batter, meaning the command issues seem to be a thing of the past. And if he continues to perform the way he has been, it’s likely his role will only expand.
“At a minimum, he can be a long relief guy, a bridge guy, but I think that role could expand,” Bakich said. “There is no reason why we wouldn’t throw him in on the weekends, either. Strike-throwing lefties are always a winning type of recipe in college baseball. And he’s got the stuff to go along with it. We will keep using him and using him in big spots.”