After an extremely disappointing 2026 season that saw Clemson miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time during his four-year tenure, Erik Bakich has gone to work in the portal in an effort to upgrade the Tigers’ roster.
Two areas that really needed to be addressed were the struggles witnessed at the plate during the 31-26 season and the defense, particularly in the infield. Only four ACC teams had a fielding percentage worse than that of the Tigers.
One area that certainly needed addressing was third base. Clemson tried several different options at the hot corner last season and never really found an answer. Freshman Jason Fultz started most of the games there over the back half of the season, but he has since entered the transfer portal. However, regardless of who was there during the season, that player rarely produced at the plate, and the defense left a lot to be desired, as well.
Bakich went out and landed Troy Sudbrook to fill that role next season. Sudbrook was named an All-American by two different publications after he led the NCAA with 32 doubles at Toledo last season. Nobody on the Clemson team had more than 14. He also had 11 home runs, 71 RBI, 65 runs scored, 30 walks and 13 stolen bases. He led the Rockets with 30 multi-hit games and 20 multi-RBI games. He set two single-season records with his doubles and RBI totals and finished in the top 10 of five different program single-season statistics.
At the same time, he also plays the kind of defense that the Tigers lacked at third base. His 3.93 WAR is second among all players in the portal and tops among third basemen, meaning Sudbrook should be a massive upgrade at the position.
With Jacob Jarrell out of eligibility and Nate Savoie transferring to Texas A&M, the Tigers were left without a catcher. On Thursday, Bakich landed Southern Cal transfer Issac Cadena, who was one of the better backstops in the country. He hit .294 with eight home runs and 36 RBI. He added 16 doubles, the second most on the team, and finished second on the team with 40 walks while also ranking second on the team with a .425 on-base percentage. He posted a .505 slugging percentage and a .930 OPS.
While he might not put up the same kind of power numbers as Jarrell or Savoie, Cadena is a massive get, even if this will be his fourth school in four seasons. While he did not throw out a bunch of runners attempting to steal, he did manage a really strong pitching staff at Southern Cal in 2026, which says something about his skill set. His 2.62 WAR is the seventh best among all portal catchers. Clemson also landed Bennett Edwards from Georgia Southern, who can serve as the backup.
Bakich has also landed Davidson transfer Jamie Daly, who started 45 games in center last season. Honestly, he can play anywhere in the outfield. The lefty hit .335 with 11 homers, nine doubles and 40 RBI.
Daley’s 3.02 WAR is the ninth-highest among all portal outfielders and 30th overall. With Bryce Clavon transferring to Penn State, Jack Crighton out of eligibility, and again, Savoie moving on, the Tigers needed an outfielder to go along with some of the youngsters on the roster. It wouldn’t be surprising to see another outfielder added via the portal.
Make no mistake, to this point, it’s been a slow process, but Bakich has added some key pieces to try and address the offensive and defensive issues that plagued the team last season. Having said that, there is still some work to be done, especially if Jarren Purify decides not to come back, which is looking like a very realistic possibility with the summer he’s having in the MLB Draft League. There’s also no guarantee Tryston McCladdie is back. But if you do get one of those guys to return, with Tyler Lichtenberger coming back and Luke Gaffney likely returning at first base, the infield should be stronger next year.
