Dan Margolies has long admired the Clemson Baseball program, but the admiration was taken to another level once Erik Bakich was hired to lead the program following the 2022 season.
Margolies had strong junior campaign on the mound and at the plate for Cheshire Academy (CT) and an even stronger summer on the travel ball circuit. While he was at one time committed to UConn, the rising senior chose to back off the verbal pledge two weeks ago ahead of a travel ball event in Georgia.
Knowing Erik Bakich and assistant Nick Schnabel would be in attendance for that tournament, Margolies chose to take a chance and decommit.
“I literally decommitted from UConn two weeks ago and I just bet on myself,” Margolies told The Clemson Insider. “I had a tournament down in Georgia. Clemson was there watching me, and then showed interest in me. And ever since I saw that, I knew UConn wasn’t the best fit for me, I wanted to go south. My talents were rising, and it was the perfect time to find that chance to play at Clemson, which has always been one of my dream schools.”
Margolies visited campus last Monday, getting to spend some time getting to know the place, as well as pitching coach Jimmy Belanger. Almost immediately he knew that Clemson was the not only the right fit, but the perfect one, and he committed.
“(Bakich) gave me the offer, and I was right on board as soon as he said so,” he said.
“I just love the atmosphere. I love Coach Bakich’s philosophy, his whole philosophy of the way he coaches. I love the whole staff; coach Belanger. I just love the environment they have. Their campus is gorgeous. Plus they’re also just a really great program for development. And that’s exactly what I was looking for.”
Margolies is a two-way standout in high school but the left-handed hurler will focus exclusively on pitching at the college level. In that tournament in Georgia, he was hitting 93 MPH on the radar gun, and ever since then Margolies said his phone has been blowing up.
However, it is Clemson that he will call home and while he still has another year of high school, Margolies is already eagerly looking forward to playing for a head coach that has consistently shown he has the backs of his players.
“He’s willing to do anything to win, willing to show anything for his team, to bring them together,” Margolies said. “It’s not just about winning. I mean, winning is the main goal, but it’s not just about winning. It’s about having one team, one family, and bringing them all together and the way he sticks up for his players, it’s just it’s amazing to see.”
Photo courtesy of Dan Margolies
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