Clemson Baseball: Postseason Outlook

With approximately two weeks left in the regular season, #16 Clemson has used their recent run to not only put themselves in a great position for the postseason but also in a good spot to host a regional at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. While Coach Bakich has stressed the importance of not looking ahead to the team, the recent stretch of games has caused many fans to start looking forward to the postseason.

Before the NCAA Tournament begins, the Tigers still have two important weekends of ACC play remaining. With the pod format of the ACC Baseball Championship, the top four seeds have an inside track to advancing to the semifinals on Saturday due to tiebreakers. Currently, Clemson is tied for third in the conference and would be the #3 seed if the Championship started today. Below, we take a glance at the standings and each team’s remaining conference series.

Seed Team Record Win % This Weekend Next Weekend
1 Wake Forest 18-5 .783 @ Florida State Virginia Tech
2 Duke 14-9 .609 Georgia Tech @ Miami (FL)
3 Clemson 14-10 .583 @ Virginia Tech North Carolina
4 Miami (FL) 14-10 .583 @ Pittsburgh Duke
5 Virginia 13-11 .542 Louisville @ Georgia Tech
6 Boston College 14-12 .538 Notre Dame
7 Notre Dame 14-13 .519 @ Boston College
8 North Carolina 11-11 .500 NC State @ Clemson

Historically, ACC teams need to have a .500 conference record to make the NCAA Tournament while most ACC hosts usually hit the 17-win mark in conference play. With six games left and sitting at 14 wins, Clemson looks to be in a good position for the NCAA Tournament.

Speaking of the NCAA Tournament, both D1Baseball and Baseball America have the Tigers hosting in their most recent regional projections from May 10th. D1Baseball has Clemson as the #11 national seed and matched with the Duke Regional for Super Regional play. Other teams in the Clemson Regional are Campbell (37-10), Georgia (27-21), and Davidson (26-19). Baseball America has the Tigers as the #13 national seed and matched with the Arkansas Regional for Super Regional play. Other teams in the Clemson Regional are Campbell, Alabama (33-16), and Sam Houston (29-20).

Next week we will take a closer look at the hosting situation, but Clemson fans can still follow some of the hosting competition. For D1Baseball, those schools include Miami (FL) (#13), Boston College (#14), Oklahoma State (#15), Connecticut (#16) as well as Indiana State, Dallas Baptist, and Oregon. Baseball America lists the following teams as close to the Tigers in the hosting ladder: Kentucky (#12), Miami (FL) (#14), Indiana State (#15), and Boston College (#16) while Connecticut, Oregon, Campbell, and East Carolina are also in the mix.