Inside Erik Bakich's 2026 Pitching Plan For Clemson Baseball

The Clemson Tigers are almost back on the diamond in 2026, with this week marking the beginning of the preseason for the program.

Erik Bakich is entering his fourth season with the program, and he’ll be taking a strategy that he used at his previous school, Michigan, when doing certain things this season compared to last season. It helped the Wolverines get to Omaha, so why not Clemson?

The plan, which had already been in fruition since the fall, was to pitch the least amount of innings than ever before in his time at Clemson. That way, these players were able to have a “true offseason”, as Bakich puts it.

Due to his message to the team, which is “preparation, execute and stay healthy”, the Clemson head coach said he may limit players on purpose, just to help the pitch count and show the depth that he has.

“We have 23 pitchers, and all of them are good, so it’s one of the deepest pitching staffs in terms of totality, one to 23, that I’ve been a part of,” Bakich said. “So, we will see how that shakes out and what that means.”

Bakich used this plan during his 2019 College World Series appearance with Michigan. He had three pitchers, Tommy Henry, Jeff Criswell and Karl Kauffmann, who all ended up as second-rounders in the MLB Draft in given seasons. The most one pitched that season was 130.2 innings.

Not only was it beneficial for the starters, but it was also helpful for the team, which had its aces playing well during the biggest games. It also led the Wolverines to a College World Series runner-up honor in 2019.

Bakich wants the same to happen for Clemson this season.

“It gave us a huge luxury at the end of the season to really rely on those guys because they were still fresh,” he said. “They had not pitched all fall, and having that rest time was critical for their ability to extend later in the season.”

Now, he puts that strategy onto Clemson, which hasn’t made a College World Series appearance since 2010. The Tigers have made the postseason all three times in Bakich’s tenure, but have only gone to one Super Regional, which they hosted and lost in 2024.

Bakich is looking for the team to be healthy at the right time instead of starting hot, saying that’s where his best chance to break the 16-year drought would occur.

“I think every guy is different and individual, and we just knew that if we are going to have the chance to play for it all, then we've got to be healthy in the end,” he said. “There’s some luck that goes into it, but injuries certainly can derail any team, no matter how good.”

Whether that healthy piece is two-time First Team All-ACC pitcher Aidan Knaak, or highly-touted prospect Dane Moehler, who will return from a torn UCL injury, what will matter most is if the standout pitchers are healthy come May and June, when the postseason rolls around and games become win-or-go-home.

In a game that’s difficult to read, Bakich will try to hold onto any control he can. In this case, it’s slowly integrating pitchers to end up as aces entering the NCAA Tournament next season.

“We are going to have injuries,” Bakich said. “Everyone has injuries, but at least the things we can control, and how we structure the games and the training and the development in the offseason, we wanted to do everything we could to put them in the best position.”

Clemson baseball, ranked No. 20 to open the season, according to Perfect Game, will begin the season on Feb. 13 against Army at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.