Why South Carolina was 'the right place' for transfer outfielder Tyler Bak

It only took five minutes after the transfer portal opened for Tyler Bak to get his first phone call. On the other line was Monte Lee from South Carolina.

Bak was surprised to be receiving a call this quickly. The fact that it came from Lee meant a lot. Growing up, Bak attended one of Lee’s youth baseball camps when he was Clemson’s head coach.

“He presented me with the best defender award at one of his youth camps. I’ve always had that certificate around throughout my whole life,” Bak told GamecockCentral. “It’s pretty cool to see his name on that certificate as a kid when I was maybe 12 years old.”

When Lee called Bak, who spent two seasons at Wofford, he was looking for outfield help. He made it known that Bak could play a major role in what South Carolina was trying to accomplish next season.

“Monte was great. He was awesome. He made me feel like I was so important to him,” Bak said. “… I’ve always grown up just watching South Carolina baseball and always followed it. The atmosphere at South Carolina is just awesome. So I just felt like it was the right place for me.”

After committing to South Carolina on Wednesday, Bak looks to be the centerfield replacement for Nathan Hall, who will most likely be taken in the early rounds of next month’s MLB Draft. The coaching staff has expressed to Bak that they want him to be their everyday centerfielder next season.

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In his sophomore year at Wofford, Bak played 45 games in centerfield but made five errors and fielded at a .960 clip. However, he’s fully confident in his abilities since that’s always been his main position.

“It feels great to command the outfield and be able to track down every single ball that’s hit out there,” Bak said. “I’ve always played centerfield, sometimes left. My freshman year, I played left field. I feel comfortable in any position in the outfield, and that’s what makes me elite in the outfield.”

Bak made some big strides offensively after a season in which he made the Southern Conference All-Freshman Team. The left-handed hitter batted .311 with two homers and 20 RBI in 157 at-bats.

“I felt more experienced, and I felt way simpler with my swing, and I changed a lot with my swing working with the Wofford coaches,” he said. “… I just felt like I needed to become simpler and more disciplined in the box, and that makes me the player that I am today.”

His strikeout-to-walk numbers were almost equal, as he struck out 29 times and walked 23 with five hit-by-pitches. Along with his .427 on-base percentage, he also went 15-for-17 in stolen base attempts.

“I almost always know that I’m going to be stealing,” Bak said. “I mean, at Wofford, Wofford is very big on stealing, and so they’ve taught me well enough for me to be able to steal bases anytime.”

With South Carolina expected to have more power in its lineup, Bak provides a much different look. As someone who’s only homered twice in his college career, he figures to be an ideal leadoff candidate. He also hit in various spots in Wofford’s lineup, even batting third near the end of the season.

Regardless of where Bak ends up in the order, he feels confident that he’ll see a lot of pitches in the count and attack anything thrown in the zone.

“Usually early in the counts,” Bak said, “I look to find something that’s middle, middle out so that I can drive any pitch, drive, just trying to stay simple with my hands and trying to focus on hitting it through the gaps. So that’s what I try to mainly focus on.”

While leaving Wofford was tough, Bak knew there would be a better opportunity elsewhere. With two years of eligibility left, he’s looking forward to being at South Carolina and getting a chance to compete in the SEC.

“I can’t tell you how excited I am. I’m urging to get there right now,” Bak said. “I just can’t wait to meet all the fans, meet all my new teammates, and meet with the coaches, finally, in person. I’m so excited.”

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