Clemson Baseball: Tiger Tuesday – Kyle Parker

Tiger Tuesday looks at Clemson alums from the past few years. Today it features a two-sport star for the Tigers.

Kyle Parker – Right Field/Quarterback, 2008-10

• 46 home runs
• 166 RBIs
• .302 career batting average
• 4,739 passing yards
• 32 touchdowns
• 1 rushing touchdown

Parker attended Bartram Trail High School in St. Johns County, Florida. He was a two-sport star for the Bears. He was their starting quarterback from the middle of his sophomore season until he graduated. He was an all-state baseball player as a junior. Parker gave up his senior season of high school baseball so he could enroll early at Clemson.

He played three seasons of baseball for the Tigers from 2008-10 for head coach Jack Leggett. He was a first-team freshman All-American for Baseball America in 2008. As a junior in 2010, he hit .344 with 20 home runs and 64 RBIs.

Parker redshirted for football in 2008 and then started for the Tigers in 2009-10. He ranks ninth in passing yards, ninth in passing touchdowns, and ninth in completions in Clemson history, and he accomplished all of that in only two seasons. Collegefootballnews.com named him a second-team Freshman All-American in 2009.

The moment he will always be remembered for will be when he led the Tigers to an overtime upset win at Miami.

Kyle Parker made a mark with both Clemson Baseball and Football

Trivia: Parker was the first athlete in Clemson history to throw 20 touchdowns and hit 20 home runs in the same scholastic year.

Parker elected to forgo his remaining eligibility in both football and baseball to enter the 2010 MLB draft. He was drafted by the Colorado Rockies and made his big-league debut in 2014.

He spent a couple of seasons with the Rockies and in the Cincinnati Reds organization. He then returned to Clemson to finish his degree. He also worked on the football support staff. He has also been the color commentator for Clemson baseball during broadcasts.