The 2024 NCAA Baseball Tournament is set and with that comes the Regional matchups. The ACC gets yet another host with the Clemson Regional. The Tigers welcome in some very tough opponents in Vanderbilt, Coastal Carolina, and High Point. Here’s a brief overview of each team along with a prediction for who will advance to the Super Regionals.
#1 Clemson Tigers
Clemson has the task of hosting three very solid programs. They should be well up to the challenge at 41-14 on the season with a 20-10 ACC record. Clemson plays well against high ranked opponents, and even have a win over High Point as recently as May 24th. This makes the opening round of this Regional even more interesting.
Players to Watch | Season Stats
Aidan Knaak – 2.96 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 5-1 W-L, 13 APP/GS, 73.0 IP, 97 K, 26 BB, .216 B/AVG
Cam Cannarella – .342 BA, .982 OPS, 77 H, 9 HR, 51 RBI
Blake Wright – .341 BA, 1.048 OPS, 79 H, 21 HR, 70 RBI
#2 Vanderbilt Commodores
Continuing this stacked Regional is a threat to all other three teams involved in this one. Having a Vanderbilt Commodores team come into your stadium with a Super Regional berth on the line is a scary thought. Even in a rather down year for Vandy at 38-21 with a 13-17 SEC record, they’re still a very battle tested team. Winning three games in the SEC tournament, one against Tennessee gives them even more momentum to take on Coastal, and any other team in the Regional.
Players to Watch | Season Stats
RJ Austin – .322 BA, 75 H, 51 RBI, 27 SB
Jonathan Vastine – .297 BA, 62 H, 10 HR, 42 RBI, .545 SLG, 12 SB
#3 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
Coastal is a team that knows the college baseball postseason all too well. The 2016 national champions now know their route to Omaha will more than likely need a win or two over Clemson. Interesting enough throughout their 34-23 season, two games between Clemson and Coastal were canceled. This is a long anticipated matchup and hopefully we can get multiple games between these two squads.
Players to Watch | Season Stats
Sam Antonacci – .367 BA, 1.012 OPS, 77 H, 43 RBI, 14 SB
Graham Brown – .365 BA, 1.096 OPS, 74 H, 12 HR, 60 RBI
#4 High Point Panthers
The Big South champions don’t have to travel too far to get to their Regional matchup. With a 34-25 record and a 17-7 record in conference play, High Point’s season has been better than what their record shows. Their conference championship is a testament to that. They’ve played ranked opponents like Tennessee tightly along with Wake Forest multiple times. They’ll be faced with a big challenge against Clemson, but the Panthers are not a team to take lightly.
Players to Watch | Season Stats
Cael Chatham – .314 BA, 1.072 OPS, 69 H, 17 HR, 54 RBI
Brayden Simpson – .302 BA, 1.002 OPS, 64 H, 12 HR, 44 RBI, 14 SB
Predicted Winner: #1 Clemson Tigers
Despite the tough competition, Clemson is a very tough team to beat and while Vanderbilt or Coastal Carolina could very well get hot, home field advantage may be too much to beat a 40 win Clemson team.