The 2021 Clemson baseball season didn’t go according to plan.
While many Clemson baseball fans expected the Tigers to compete at least in the middle-portion of the ACC and for them to have the potential to host an NCAA Regional if everything fell their way, the team will fall short of making the NCAA postseason altogether after a disappointing year that saw them finish with a 24-27 overall record and 16-20 record in the ACC.
The Tigers finished 11th in the conference and while many were encouraged by the consolation win over 2-seeded Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament on Wednesday, the truth of the matter is that this type of season simply doesn’t happen all that often for Clemson.
The Tigers haven’t missed an NCAA Tournament since 2008 and they were one of just four programs in the nation to make 11-straight tournament appearances.
Following the loss to Louisville in the ACC Tournament on Tuesday, Monte Lee said that he had failed his team.
"“I have to look at myself first. You guys know this, I am going to be very accountable for everything in this program,” Lee said via The Clemson Insider. “So, I am going to look at myself first, and look, as we get through tomorrow, what I have to do a better job of and we as a coaching staff have to do a better job of to prepare our guys for next year for some of these players in the program that will be back and make sure we put them in position to play in the postseason to be successful.”"
Clemson baseball has to make changes if the program is going to improve in the future
Over the last few seasons, it seems we’ve heard over and over again about how “this team is young,” but at some point they’ve got to grow up.
This 2021 team had seven seniors who played consistently, but even for those who’ll be returning, what about this team makes you feel good about the next season moving forward?
There are some talented pieces- like Caden Grice, Dylan Brewer and Davis Sharpe- who should all be returning, but it’s just tough to see this team as it is currently pieced together, even if they’ll be more experienced in 2022, returning to regional-hosting form.
Perhaps that’s not giving them enough credit, but there were times this season where they just looked bad and simply didn’t seem like they were ready to play. The Tigers lost 10 games this season by five runs or more. The pitching staff gave up double-digit runs seven times. Clemson committed an average of 1.2 errors per game. Their 59 errors was 19 more than their opponent’s 40.
Some of these things are easy fixes. Others are deep concerns.
No matter how you look at it, change needs to come to the Clemson baseball program. Are we calling for the end of Monte Lee? Not necessarily. But there’s got to be a change in how players are developed and the talent level of guys who are coming into the program. It all starts at the top, but make no mistake about it: There’s plenty of blame to go around.