CLEMSON -- Nearly one year ago, Graham Neff announced Erik Bakich would be the man to replace Monte Lee and chart a course of a new direction for Clemson Baseball.
Since day one, Bakich has consistently preached a vision of returning Clemson to its rightful place among the best in college baseball.
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After a 2-8 start in the ACC, the Tigers have won five straight series, including wins on the road against Boston College and a sweep over Louisville at home.
Clemson now controls its postseason destiny, with Bakich's vision beginning to materialize on the diamond.
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After a fifth straight series win, Bakich broke down what this year has meant to him and what that vision entails, exclusively on Tigerillustrated.com.
Q: It's been nearly a year since it was announced that you would take over as the new head coach for Clemson Baseball. When you look back from then to now, has it been everything you envisioned?
Bakich: "I'm in a gratitude zone. I'm just happy to be back; my family loves it here. I love it here. I love being a part of this school, this university, and this athletic department. I'm happy we can positively contribute to the athletic department and help return Clemson Baseball to the level that I know the fans and alumni, and former players would like to see it at. So I'm just more in a gratitude zone to be here."
Q: In 2002, Jack Leggett was instrumental in hiring you on his staff as an assistant, and now fast forward to now with him being on your staff in your first year. How has your relationship with Leggett grown since you've been hired?
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Bakich: "Oh man, I'm a proud branch of the Jack Leggett coaching tree. It goes back to being grateful, and I attribute a lot of things to Coach Leggett, giving some 24-year-old he never met an opportunity to start college coaching. We shared a connection with one of his former players and coaches, Keith LeClair, whom I played for at East Carolina. So, there was a connection there, but I didn't know Coach Leggett. So, for him to bring me on and to be a young kid at the right place and at the right time with three hall-of-fame coaches in Coach Leggett, Tim Corbin, and Kevin O'Sullivan, I just got extremely lucky.
"And to continue to have Coach Leggett as a mentor and a friend has been incredible for these last 21 years, and to now have him be completely all in, back with Clemson Baseball and the energy he brings.
"He walks into a room, and it is like a thousand lights go on. He is one of those positive life force types of guys who constantly provides some type of wisdom and makes everyone's day better. We feed off his energy. To be able to have that and our players be fortunate to be a part of that, and on top of that celebrate and honor his legendary, hall-of-fame coaching career and put his number on the wall and retire number seven, that's a big deal. It gave him a lot of personal closure in his life, and he feels really good about Clemson Baseball again, and we are thrilled he is a part of it."
Q: This turnaround that has taken place, you start 2-8 in the ACC and now have won five straight ACC series. I know it has been said that the midweek win over Coastal Carolina was the start of that, but was there a moment before that you felt something special was brewing?
Bakich: "I felt like that realization that we had a lot of physical talent was back in the fall, but it was more about putting it all together mentally. It was about utilizing this space we are in now, this baseball classroom, as an opportunity to grow their mental skills and enhance their mindset on team culture, connection to former players, and ancestry of Clemson Baseball.
"It is all about how to compete one pitch at a time and the mental tools to slow the game down, which also couple as life skills for high achievement and high performers in the things they do.
"There was a little bit of a gap where we needed to make that improvement, but the best thing that could've happened to us this season was to have those rough patches early as it made us resilient; it made us tough and calloused our minds.
"We had a lot of repetitions in close games like (Saturday against Louisville), where we would have been on the wrong side of it. It's just another Saturday where it's a one-run game in the eighth inning; no big deal.
"That's all shaped the identity of this team that we have now, and we are still forming, but we haven't done anything yet. There's still a long way to go and a lot of work to be done. We're happy, but we are not satisfied, but we feel good about the confidence and the belief of this team right now."
Q: A major part of this turnaround has been Caden Grice elevating his play, not only offensively but as a pitcher as well. What's it been about Grice that's helped this team get to where they are?
Bakich: "He's a special and unique outlier physical specimen of a talented baseball player. He is blessed by the hand of God to have the body, the frame, and the skill set that he has. I think he is playing with mental freedom this year, allowing his skillset to be at its potential.
"Being a two-way player and pitching and hitting has freed him up in both places, so he is not exclusively overthinking one area or the other. Instead, he is trusting his God-given ability to go out and compete, go out and play. It has enhanced everything.
"He may not have our best offensive numbers or our best pitching numbers, but he is definitely our most valuable player with the combination of what he is able to do on both sides of the ball.
"It is great to see him have the success he is having, especially in a bounce-back fashion from last year, and I'm excited about him. His best baseball is ahead of him.
"Most players have to choose whether they stick to pitching or hitting at some point, and I don't think Caden Grice will have to choose; I think he can do both at the highest level."
Q: This vision of restoring Clemson to its rightful place within college baseball has been synonymous with you since day one. To you, what does that mean?
Bakich: "When anyone thinks about Clemson Baseball, they think about Omaha and championships. They think about high energy, effort, and a team that plays to a certain standard.
"First, get the team to have the right mindset and create a training environment to shape that mindset; Step one. Step two is to teach certain physical skills that follow that mindset: how we play, how we compete, and how it looks to the observer that is watching. The byproduct of all of that is what happens on the field and the results.
"Our focus will always be on a high level of competition, being very much centered on taking it one day and pitch at a time and knowing when we do all those things the results have a chance to be in our favor.
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"When you think about the standard of Clemson Baseball, you think about a program that's competing for national championships in Omaha."
Q: When you reflect on this past year, where do you feel you have grown the most as a coach in year one here at Clemson?
Bakich: "I never really put the target on myself. I always think about how I can improve the players and the kids and what type of environment we can create on a daily basis that allows them to grow.
"I'm 45. It doesn't really matter, and it is not about me. It is about the team and the program. My job as a coach is to eliminate my job and, at some point, turn the keys over to them and be a player-led team, and they take the coaches for a ride. That's a fun and exciting thing, and we are getting there.
"We are definitely making strides, and it's a fun team to be around. Again, I'm very appreciative to be back, wear the Tiger paw and try to see how long we can keep team 126 together."
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