Clemson baseball: Benjamin Blackwell to return

Clemson baseball has spent the summer in the news.  Monte Lee was not retained, there was a coaching search that led to Erik Bakich, transfers out, transfers in and a myriad of commitment flips and lets not forget the MLB Draft.

The roster, as we knew it won’t look the same when the Tigers take the field next February.  No, I’m not talking about the typically yearly turnover that happens with a college baseball team, but this will be a massive shift and you’ll need the proverbial scorecard to keep up with the changes.

With the amount of change that has happened, and likely there’s still some to come, it was nice to see that Benjamin Blackwell decided to return for 2023.

Blackwell transferred from Dayton, manned shortstop well and was very good at the plate, batting .327 with 3 home runs and 33 RBI on the season.

Blackwell fielded at a .951 clip and made 11 errors, but for the most part was an above average shortstop.

For his career, between Clemson and Dayton Blackwell is a .315 hitter with a .414 on base percentage and he’ll be an asset to the Clemson offense next season.

After transferring from Dayton, Benjamin Blackwell has grown fond of Clemson baseball and wants to return for one more ride

From the statement above you can tell that Blackwell has grown fond of Clemson.

As we’ve detailed multiple times, this is a season of change for the Clemson baseball program, one that’s tough to get used to for a program that has seen so little change in the preceding 65 or so years.

Change can be a good thing, though and is sometimes needed, whether or not it’s easy at the time.

Even with good change, it’s nice to have some familiar faces around to remind their peers how it’s done within Tiger baseball and what the expectations are.

Despite only being a part of the program for one season, Blackwell will be one of those guys the transfers and freshman look to in 2023.