AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. – Clemson is hosting an NCAA softball regional this weekend. And in a couple of weekends, the Tigers will more than likely be hosting a baseball regional, too.

The Clemson Insider spoke exclusively with Graham Neff on Wednesday morning from the ACC spring meetings, and Clemson’s Athletic Director spoke about the significance of the softball team hosting a regional and the likelihood that the baseball team will as well.

It’s the second consecutive year that the Clemson softball team is hosting a regional after being selected as one of the 16 host sites for the 2023 postseason. The Tigers were selected as the No. 16 national seed and will host games at McWhorter Stadium beginning on Friday, when Clemson faces UNC Greensboro in their opening game of the double-elimination regional.

Meanwhile, the Clemson baseball team has been red hot under first-year head coach Erik Bakich, and the Tigers are on track to host a regional when regionals begin in early June. If that’s the case, it will be the first time Clemson has hosted a regional in baseball since 2018.

“Regionals in Clemson, there’s nothing better,” Neff said. “Now this will be our second one in softball that we’re hosting. I like where things sit for baseball, and it’s been a while for baseball to host a regional in Clemson… So, being nationally relevant in baseball and softball – and historically, baseball, we’ve always been there, and historically for four years now, softball, we’ve been there – it’s just really important.

“There’s certainly the excitement, the energy that we feel for this time of year, May into June. And for us to be doing that, certainly on campus, let alone just to be incredibly relevant for championships, ACC, Supers, World Series – to have those opportunities competitively, it’s just exciting and it feels right. It’s really important.”

In the Clemson softball program’s fourth-ever season, head coach John Rittman has led the Tigers to a 46-9 overall record and the program’s third straight NCAA Tournament selection. The Tigers are coming off the ACC Tournament, where they advanced to the semifinals for the third time in three years.

As for Bakich’s baseball team, it is currently riding a nine-game winning streak and has won 20 of its last 24 games since being swept by Wake Forest from March 30-April 1. In Bakich’s first season at the helm, the sixth-ranked Tigers have a 36-17 overall record (17-10 ACC) entering their final regular season series against North Carolina at Doug Kingsmore Stadium beginning Thursday.

“Couldn’t be more pleased with both Coach Rittman and Coach Bakich,” Neff said. “Obviously it’s been an awesome start for Erik. But there’s a lot of baseball left to play and softball left to play. To get positioned to this point, it’s been awesome regular seasons, but now is where you win championships in postseason play. So, excited for that energy and for Clemson, the community and just our fan base as we rally around those programs. It just feels right.”