CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After Clemson’s disappointing season ended with a elimination in the opening round of the ACC Tournament, head coach Erik Bakich quickly took full responsibility for the Tigers not playing to their potential in 2026.

Clemson came into the season ranked inside the Top 20 in multiple polls, and after getting off to a 15-1 start in non-conference play, the Tigers were just 16-25 the rest of the way. The team went just 10-20 in ACC play, which is tied for the most losses in conference play in program history. This season also marks just the ninth time ever the program has finished with a losing record in league play.

“The feeling is we underperformed our ability and underperformed our talent,” Bakich said after the first round exit on Tuesday. “We did not play to our potential. Not that we’ve got first rounders all over the place and a bunch of All-Americans, but we were certainly better than the team that was out there and the way that this team finished. We are better than that.”

“We just did not get it done and I have to point the thumb at myself with a lot of it. Because I clearly did not have them performing to their potential for the entire ACC season.”

And Bakich was adamant about where the responsibility lies. The head coach was just as adamant that he will right the ship, beginning in the fall.

“It ultimately falls on my shoulders, it starts with me. I have to be better and I will be better,” he said. “There are a lot of things to point to but it is on me to get it right and I will.”

The Tigers came into the ACC Tournament knowing they needed to win the whole thing to earn a bid into the NCAA Tournament. Instead, Clemson will not play in a regional for the first time since Bakich was hired ahead of the 2023 season.

“I think it will be a bump in the road when you look back historically at our success,” Bakich said. “Not that our first three years were some magical success, but it felt like at times, especially those first two years, we were trending in a good direction. Competing for championships, you have to earn it every single day, and I am going to make sure we earn in every single day.”

In the moment, it certainly feels like the program is headed in the wrong direction. With the sting of this season fresh on everyone’s mind, it is easy to overlook the success the Tigers have had under the current coaching staff, including home regionals in each of his first three seasons. The Tigers had missed the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons ahead of Bakich’s arrival and in his second year he guided the program to its first appearance in a Super Regional since 2010. He’s also led the program to a Top 8 national seed twice.

That is part of the reason why he doesn’t feel the need to make sweeping changes. At the same time, that doesn’t mean everything will remain the same either.

During his first fall with the team, he made his players earn everything. From some of the equipment to the names on the jerseys. Even access to the facilities. And it sounds like the plan is to get back to some of those philosophies when fall ball starts later this year.

“Sweeping changes is probably a strong phrase but getting back to some of the fundamentals that make Clemson baseball — for me, it is easier to say that we are going back to year one. Rebulding everything and assuming nothing,” the head coach said. “Focusing on all the little things on how we do things. From the standards to how we perform on the field. How we win. And that has to be a huge emphasis in meeting one in August. We will need to make a lot of improvements. Sweeping improvements I think is the better was to say it.”