After a disappointing season that will see Clemson miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the hiring of Erik Bakich, there could be a lot of change inside the Tigers’ program over the next few weeks, particularly when it comes to the roster.
During Bakich’s first three years at the helm, Clemson won more than 40 games and hosted a regional in each of those seasons. Twice, the Tigers earned a Top 8 national seed and in 2023, the program made it to the Super Regional round for the first time since 2010. The program seemed like it was on an upward trajectory, despite the team being bounced in a home regional in 2025.
Then came the disastrous 2026 campaign. The Tigers were ranked inside the Top 20 of multiple polls coming into the season and were picked to finish fifth in the ACC. However, Clemson came nowhere close to living up to the lofty preseason expectations.
The Tigers finished next to last in the ACC standings, going just 16-25 over the final 41 games. Only twice did this team win an ACC series, and unsurprisingly, Clemson was eliminated in the first round of the conference tournament.
“I just want to apologize to the Clemson fans,” Bakich said Tuesday night after Clemson’s 5-4 loss to Notre Dame in the ACC tourney. “It’s my responsibility to get this program competing for championships, and I failed to do that this year.”
After the kind of season Clemson experienced, it’s safe to assume change is coming. Whether Bakich decides to make any tweaks to his coaching staff is yet to be determined, but it’s reasonable to surmise this roster will look different in 2027. Maybe even much different.
“I haven’t felt this way in a long time,” Bakich said. “Where the feeling was that we underperformed our ability and underperformed our talent. Didn’t 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 this team finished.”
“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.”
Guys like Jarren Purify and Luke Gaffney will have decisions to make after the MLB Draft. Others will be drafted too. There will also be players who decide to transfer out, with some possibly even being encouraged to look for opportunities elsewhere. Love it or hate it, that’s just the nature of the era we live in currently.
In total, there could be upwards of 20 or so new faces next season. There will be 10-11 incoming freshmen, depending on the MLB Draft. Add one more if Tait Reynolds, a freshman QB for football, decides he wants to attempt playing both sports next year. The rest will be portal additions.
Exit interviews began even before the team left for Charlotte and with the portal window opening on June 1, the next few weeks will be crucial. The portal provides coaches with an opportunity to get things turned around much quicker than in the past, and that is going to be the expectation placed upon Bakich and the rest of his coaching staff.
“Sweeping changes is probably a strong phrase,” Bakich said. “For me, it is easier to say that we are going back to year one. Rebuilding everything and assuming nothing. 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.”