Clemson's Erik Bakich raves about Caden Grice's 'God-given ability' as two-way player
Clemson is arguably the hottest team in college baseball right now, and two-way star Caden Grice is a big reason why.
Grice has been getting the job done on the mound and at the plate for the Tigers for most of the season. He entered Friday’s ACC Tournament matchup with Boston College with a 7-1 record and 3.18 ERA. At the plate, Grice is batting .300 with a team-high 15 home runs and 58 RBIs.
“He’s a special player. I mean his God-given ability is better than most,” Clemson coach Erik Bakich told the ACC Network during Friday’s game. “That’s how you draw up a baseball player right there — 6-6, 250 that’s fast and explosive and can do both ways.”
Grice is draft-eligible and is likely to be a high pick in this year’s MLB draft.
Bakich believes he can continue to have success on the mound and at the plate at the professional level.
“I don’t know if he’ll have to pick,” Bakich said. “I think he can do both at the highest level. He’s a very special player.”
It has been an up-and-down career for the Greenville native, who got off to a fantastic start to his college career as a freshman. Grice was a first-team freshman All-American in 2021 after hitting .317 with 15 home runs and 53 RBIs.
He was unable to replicate that success as a sophomore, though, and saw his average dip to .244. He still had decent power numbers with 12 homers and 40 RBIs, but his numbers dipped in just about every category from his freshman season.
Caden Grice got off to a bit of a slow start this season and didn’t hit his first home run until March 18. However, he has been on fire since then.
Grice homered early against Boston College to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead in the first inning and has now homered in four of his last five games.
He wasn’t used on the mound much early in his career or even early this season, but he has been excellent since moving into the weekend rotation in late March.
As for the Clemson team, the Tigers have won 13 straight games entering Friday’s matchup with BC and are expected to be a top 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
In addition to winning 13 straight, the Tigers have also won 18 of 19 games. Bakich was asked what the key has been to his team’s success.
“Yea, I don’t know. Just a high level of belief and the guys are confident,” Bakich said. “When individual players and teams get confident they can do anything. So it’s really just a belief system, just a mindset. That’s really been the key to the better execution on the field.”