Clemson Baseball Star Drawing Intense Interest From MLB Scouts Amid Torrid Run

The Clemson Tigers baseball team is currently in the midst of one of their best seasons in program history. They are currently ranked as the No. 3 team in the country per D1Baseball, and are among the favorites to make it to Omaha this summer.

This success has largely come from the core group of talented players Clemson head coach Erik Bakich and his staff have put together, but one junior in particular has caught the attention of MLB scouts.

This would be electric centerfielder Cam Cannarella, who possesses arguably the best pure defensive ability of any college player in recent memory. It is this prowess in the outfield that has MLB teams so intrigued.

Per BaseballAmerica's Jacob Rudner, big league scouts aren't the only ones who have caught onto just how special Cannarella is with the glove either, as the junior has also received some very high praise from opposing coaches as well.

"Three opposing coaches who faced Clemson in the last two seasons described Cannarella as the best defender they’ve seen in at least a decade," Rudner writes. "One went further: best ever."

LOUD praise for Cam Cannarella.

The @ClemsonBaseball star is one of the 2025 draft's most intriguing prospects.https://t.co/ozWuB8KJoP pic.twitter.com/p4mExaasMv
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) May 1, 2025

All one really has to do in order to see whether or not Cannarella is truly "all that" is look at the unreal highlights he has produced over the past three years. One play in particular that really put him on the map was the absurd over the shoulder basket catch he made in last year's NCAA Super Regionals.

The Willie Mays-esque grab against the Florida Gators grabbed every headline in America, but plays like this have become par for the course for those in and around the Clemson clubhouse.

The upside is also there at the plate, although Cannarella is currently in the midst of his worst season offensively at the NCAA level. He's currently slashing a very solid .300/.451/.438 with four home runs, but this stat line represents a stark regression from what he produced at the plate in his first two seasons for the Tigers.

That being said, Rudner writes that taking these numbers at face value without any other context doesn't quite tell the whole story. When the whole picture is presented, it becomes clear that Cannarella has all the upside to become the type of centerfielder MLB teams dream of.

"Letting those numbers define him misses the point," Rudner says. "Cannarella underwent labrum surgery over the summer and entered the season not just recovering, but restricted... Cannarella may not check every box on a data-driven draft model. But he still looks like the type of center fielder teams covet: a middle-of-the-diamond player with an unmatched motor who, once fully healthy, might bounce back at the plate, too."

It's still yet to be known where Cannarella ends up falling in the draft, and just how far he's able to lead the Tigers this summer. One thing that's certain though, is that he's already cemented himself in Clemson baseball history.