Clemson Softball: Tigers ranked 9th in preseason poll

Clemson Softball is closing in on the start of the 2023 season. Expectations are higher than ever in the young program’s history.

The Tigers hosted their first postseason regional in 2022. They won the regional to advance to their first-ever super regional series. They finished the season ranked 15th in the nation.

With a significant share of their core players returning, along with some talented new additions, it was reasonable to believe that the Tigers would enter the season as one of the more respected teams in the nation. That belief was validated this week.

Clemson is ranked 9th in the nation in DI Softball’s preseason poll.

They are the second-highest ranked ACC program, trailing only Florida State at No. 4. Other ACC teams included were No. 13 Virginia Tech and No. 22 Duke.

The Tigers have five ranked programs (Northwestern, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida State, and Virginia Tech) on their 2023 regular season schedule, playing ten total games against those teams.

Two-time defending champion Oklahoma was ranked 1st, followed by UCLA. Oklahoma State, the program that defeated Clemson in last year’s super regional, was ranked 3rd overall.

The SEC led the way among the conferences with nine programs.

Single game tickets for Clemson Softball will be available to the public soon

The team will play their Orange vs. Purple intrasquad scrimmage at noon on February 4th. Admission is free.

Clemson has announced that single-game tickets will go on sale to the general public on Thursday, January 19th. They have also announced that some tickets will be held in reserve to make available for fans at the gate on game days. Coach John Rittman explained:

“The support and outreach from the community has been outstanding from the moment Clemson announced the addition of softball. Clemson athletics, administration, and our coaching staff recognize the importance of making our games available to the fans. New in 2023, Clemson will be selling a select number of tickets at the gate on gamedays prior to each home game. This is a great way to continue to enhance the atmosphere we’ve all grown to love at McWhorter Stadium.”

The Tigers will play 28 home games at McWhorter this season. They open their home schedule against Northwestern on February 17th, followed by a doubleheader on February 18th.