Clemson continues to climb national polls, near consensus Top 5 team in college baseball
Clemson baseball continues to surge in the national spotlight, moving up to No. 2 in the latest Perfect Game rankings following a 3-1 week that included another ACC series win. The Tigers (33-6, 11-4 ACC) also rose one spot in the D1Baseball poll, now sitting at No. 3 nationally.
The latest shuffle comes after a rough week for a couple of Top 5 teams, including LSU, which went 1-3. Texas, now 29-5, holds onto the No. 1 spot across all three major polls released Monday morning.
While Perfect Game and D1Baseball rewarded Clemson for its consistency, Baseball America moved the Tigers down one slot to No. 6. The drop wasn't performance-based, though. 'Clemson dropped one spot in the rankings due to poll movement, but there's no sign of slippage on the field,' Baseball America noted. Clemson handled Stanford in Week 9, winning its midweek game and taking two of three from a quality Cardinal team that's spent time in the rankings this year.
Aidan Knaak set the pace in the series opener, tossing six strong innings with just two hits, one run, and six strikeouts. Jacob Jarrell continued his home run streak with two more long balls to bring his team-leading total to nine, and Lucas Mahlstedt closed the series win with a three-inning save — his 12th of the year — bolstering his postseason honors case.
Up next, the Tigers return home to host No. 17 Louisville, with the series set to begin Thursday at 7 p.m. The Cardinals are coming off a series loss at NC State but earned a dramatic extra-innings win over Kentucky earlier in the week.
Clemson continues to make noise statistically within the ACC as well. Dominic Listi ranks second in on-base percentage (.525), with Cam Cannarella sitting sixth at .486 and ranking among the top five in both walks and runs scored. Jarren Purify adds speed and grit, placing top five in stolen bases and triples.
On the mound, Knaak remains one of the league's top arms — fourth in both strikeouts (67) and wins (6), while holding opponents to a .186 average (fifth-best). Mahlstedt continues to lead the ACC in saves with 12.
Offensively, the Tigers rank fourth in the conference in runs scored (301), are first in hit-by-pitches (76), and second in walks (250). They also lead the ACC in strikeouts at the plate (334). Clemson's pitching staff has produced the second-most strikeouts (383) while sitting fourth in ERA (4.53) and limiting opponents to a .227 batting average — also fourth-best in the conference.
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