Carson Spiers Signs With Reds
Clemson closer Carson Spiers has thrown his last pitch for the Monte Lee and the Tigers.
The right-handed pitcher signed a free-agent contract with the Cincinnati Reds on Monday.
Spiers went undrafted in last week's Major League Baseball Draft, and even though he was a senior in 2020's shortened season, he had one year of eligibility granted by the NCAA for 2021.
When Lee spoke with AllClemson staff last month, the Tigers head coach said Spiers was "certainly willing to come back to Clemson and would be excited about the opportunity to come back," but Lee acknowledged there were other factors at play for all seniors.
"It's not just so simple as a senior can come back to school to play another year of baseball," Lee said. "They still have to pay for school. With us being an equivalency sport, most of our guys have to pay a significant amount of money out of their own pocket to be able to come back to school for another year."
MLB instituted a rule this offseason that not only shortened the MLB draft from 40 rounds to five, but it also determined that non-draftees could be signed for a maximum signing bonus of $20,000.
Spiers went 3-0 and recorded four saves in 15.1 innings before Clemson's season was ended by the COVID-19 pandemic after 17 games. Spiers did not allow an earned run or an extra-base hit in his nine appearances and finished with 17 strikeouts.
The senior, who entered 2020 third all-time in saves at Clemson, leaves the program with 19 career saves and an ERA of 2.74. The Greenville native was also a two-time All-ACC Academic selection and a three-time member of the ACC Academic Honor Roll.
"Amazing to watch how far this young man has come during his time with us," Lee said via his Twitter account. "Shows you how much you can accomplish with belief, toughness, dedication and hard work! Good luck Carson!"