Erik Bakich suspended for first 2 Clemson baseball games. Here’s what he’ll do instead
The Clemson baseball radio broadcast team will have a special guest this weekend as they call the Tigers’ first two games at a big-time showcase event in Texas.
Erik Bakich ... Clemson’s head baseball coach.
Yes, really.
Bakich was ejected in Clemson’s season-ending loss to Florida in Game 2 of the Super Regionals last June, which, per NCAA rules, also meant he’d be suspended for his team’s next two games whenever they happened.
Since the Tigers were eliminated, though, that suspension carried over to the first two games of Clemson’s 2025 baseball season. Bakich cannot coach the preseason No. 15 Tigers in their first two games at the Shriners Children’s College Showdown.
In fact, he said Tuesday, he can’t even step foot in Globe Life Field, home of the MLB’s Texas Rangers, on Friday or Saturday as Clemson plays No. 17 Oklahoma State and No. 21 Arizona, respectively, during the six-team event in Arlington.
Instead, Bakich said, “I get to be on the radio.” He’ll join the Clemson Athletic Network’s regular baseball broadcasting team as an analyst for his team’s first two games before returning as coach for their Sunday finale against Ole Miss.
Bakich, 47, will join play-by-play broadcast William Qualkinbush and analyst Bob Mahony on the call as the Tigers open their season with two ranked matchups.
“I’ll be commentating to the best of my ability,” he said.
He’ll also have to participate on 105.5 FM The Roar remotely, from his room at Clemson’s team hotel, since he cannot enter the ballpark (even as a stand-in media member) while he serves his two-game suspension, per NCAA rules.
Why was Erik Bakich suspended?
Back on June 9, 2024, Bakich and Clemson special assistant Jack Leggett were both ejected for, as the lead umpire described it, ignoring repeated warnings as they argued the potential ejection of a Tigers player after he hit a go-ahead home run.
Clemson ended up losing the game 11-10 in 13 innings and losing the Clemson Super Regional 2-0, sending Florida to the College World Series in Omaha.
“It’s a weird, kind of dumb rule,” Bakich said. “Can’t even set foot in the stadium. But, whatever. We’ll make the best of it. It’s all good, as we like to say.”
With Bakich sidelined for two-thirds of this weekend, assistant head coach Nick Schnabel will serve as Clemson’s head coach. Bakich and Schnabel played together at East Carolina and have worked together as coaches the past 13 years.
Schnabel also served as acting coach against Florida after Bakich’s super regional ejection last June, albeit for less than a full inning.
“The team’s in very good hands,” Bakich said. “He could’ve been a head coach a million times over. ... As soon as he does take that jump, he’ll be one of the better head coaches in the country. So I feel really good about him running the team.”
Bakich isn’t the only Clemson staffer barred from the ballpark Friday and Saturday. Leggett, the former Tigers head coach who took the team to the College World Series six times from 1994-2015, was also ejected during super regionals.
Leggett, 70, currently works as a special assistant for the program. Even though he’d be eligible to be in the dugout Sunday like Bakich, Leggett will not be traveling with the team this weekend to Texas and will instead watch the games from home.
“He’ll be in Greenville serving his suspension,” Bakich said, grinning.
Clemson baseball 2025 opening weekend
All games at Globe Life Field and televised on FloSports (subscription required)
- Friday Feb. 14: vs. No. 17 Oklahoma State, noon ET
- Saturday Feb. 15: vs. No. 21 Arizona, noon ET
- Sunday Feb. 16: vs. Ole Miss, 3:30 p.m. ET
This story was originally published February 11, 2025 at 2:45 PM.
