The Clemson Tigers baseball team is expected to be one of the better programs in the country this year on the diamond.
They are coming off a strong 44-16 performance last year and will be looking to continue their success as they are ranked inside the top 10.
Leading the charge will be their star center fielder Cam Cannarella, who is entering his junior season. All eyes will be on him after he had a stellar 2024 despite dealing with an injury that required surgery after the campaign.
He revealed after the season was completed that he suffered a torn labrum during opening weekend.
Now healthy, he will be looking to build upon what has been an incredibly productive career.
Through two years with the Tigers, he has recorded a slash line of .363/.440/.561 with 18 home runs, 32 doubles and six triples, knocking in 107 runs. He stole 24 bases as a freshman but didn’t have any as a sophomore as the injury could have certainly played a part.
Clemson is certainly fortunate to have a player of that caliber on their roster, as coaches around the nation even recognize that he is one of the best position players in the country.
One of them, Xavier Musketeers coach Billy O’Conner, believes that Cannarella is the very best.
In a recent coaches roundtable forum done by Mitch Light of The Athletic, O’Conner selected the star center fielder as the best position player in college baseball that isn’t on his team.
What the Musketeers coach likes the most about Cannarella is how hard he works.
“We played him last year. He’s the kind of kid that’s fun to watch because he’s not the biggest kid, he’s not the most toolsy kid, but everything he does, he’s just a ball player, he’s a grinder,” O’Conner said.
He may not stand out amongst the crowd, but when you get on the field, it is clear that he is different form his peers.
Unassuming, Cannarella is the kind of player every coach would love to have on their team because of his high baseball IQ and well-rounded skill set.
“Is he going to be a No. 1 overall pick? Probably not. I know he’s going to be a draft guy for sure, (but) is he the guy that you look across from the dugout and say, like, “Oh my God, that looks like a big leaguer?” Not until he starts playing, and he just does everything right from a defensive standpoint, from a baserunning standpoint, from an offensive standpoint. He’s a fun one to watch for sure,” O’Conner added.
While maybe not the first overall pick, he is going to be a highly-sought after prospect, potentially in the 2025 MLB Draft class.
Recent mock drafts have him being selected in the top 10 as one of the highest-rated juniors in the country. Should he put together another campaign as productive as he has his first two years, he will put himself in a position to be one of the first players selected in June.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
