Clemson baseball took a bit of a hit earlier this month as a number of top players were selected in the 2025 MLB Draft and a couple of them were faced with major decisions.
While it's still possible to be drafted and opt to return to college, some players find it difficult to turn down hundreds of thousands of dollars to spend another year at the amateur level.
Ryan Wideman was one of those Clemson players drafted and he went No. 99 overall to the San Diego Padres in the third round. This was an intriguing spot for him because it meant he'd get a decent contract out of the draft pick and it was widely assumed that he would opt to skip his final year of college baseball to pursue his MLB future.
Earlier this week, he made that official, signing a deal with the San Diego Padres, according to TigerNet.
Wideman was a transfer from Western Kentucky who was one of the best outfielders in the portal and Erik Bakich hit a home run by bringing him to campus. Unfortunately, his time as a Tiger didn't last long as the No. 146 overall prospect on MLB.com exceeded his draft projection and went in the third round to one of the best organizations in the majors.
This is a tough loss for the Tigers who landed him on June 11 and expected him to help replace Cam Cannarella. Now Clemson will have to rely on some unproven outfielders to replace the star and his expected replacement, Wideman.
I don't doubt that Bakich will get it figured out.
But you have to be happy for Wideman who was a Clemson legacy who had quite the climb from JUCO to Western Kentucky and then to the Tigers for a month.