The Clemson softball team is preparing to step up to the plate and begin a new season with a reworked roster following the significant loss of 10 seniors.
Valerie Cagle made up one of the 10 graduated seniors, a remarkable two-way player who went No. 1 overall in the Athletes Unlimited 2024 AU Pro Softball College Draft — the third Tiger to play professionally. Cagle maintained a career .380 batting average and held the second-most home runs in ACC history with 66. Not only was she a monster on offense, but she also stood out in the circle with a 1.72 ERA, 819 strikeouts and 86 career wins.
Clemson had its very own Shohei Ohtani, and her absence will be greatly missed by the team.
To fill the hole left by Cagle and the other nine graduates, head coach John Rittman went to work to replenish the roster. He managed to acquire three transfers out of the portal: graduate utility player Reese Basinger, junior outfielder Jamison Brockenbrough and graduate pitcher Brook Melnychuk.
Basinger is no stranger to the Tigers, having played them every year while at Winthrop. Last season, she threw 4.0 innings against Clemson, allowing zero earned runs and striking out four.
With the Eagles, Basinger compiled a 2.33 ERA and 477 strikeouts in 97 appearances. At the plate, Basinger features a career .255 batting average with two home runs and 26 RBIs.
Brockenbrough will don a slightly darker orange jersey as she leaves behind the SEC champion Tennessee Volunteers. Although she was reduced to a backup in 2024, her promising freshman season is bound to get people excited.
Brockenbrough played a crucial role in Tennessee’s 2023 playoff run, hitting .306 and recording a double, triple and home run with 10 RBIs and six runs scored. Brockenbrough owns a .262 career batting average, paired with 24 RBIs and 24 runs scored.
A dominant right-hander from Hudson Bay, Canada, Melnychuk joins the Tigers following an impressive 2024 season on the mound. In 124 innings, Melnychuk racked up 67 strikeouts with a 2.77 ERA, finishing with a 13-7 record. To start the 2024 season, Melnychuk did not allow an earned run over her first 11.2 innings and finished the season allowing one run and striking out 21 in her final three starts (21 innings).
Rittman will enter his sixth season as Clemson’s softball head coach after leading the Tigers to a 35-19 overall record in 2024. Rittman’s team capped its season with its fourth straight NCAA regional appearance.
Fortunately for the team, some of Clemson’s stars survived the graduation tsunami. One name that weathered the storm and will be returning for the 2025 season is senior Maddie Moore.
Moore landed at No. 2 on D1Softball’s Preseason Second Baseman Rankings and No. 31 on Softball America’s Preseason Top 100. Last season with Clemson, Moore slashed .368/.477/.639 with 10 home runs and 39 RBIs, earning her a First Team All-ACC nod. Moore finished the season on a 22-game on-base streak dating back to March 28, 2024.
Alex Brown is another player that fans get to see back on the field again in 2025. The lefty contact hitter wrapped up 2024, batting .330, following a .399 mark with North Carolina in 2023. Brown secured No. 9 on D1Softball’s Preseason UT/DP Player Rankings and No. 72 on Softball America’s Preseason Top 100.
The Tigers are set to play their first game in Boca Raton, Florida, against the Ole Miss Rebels on Feb. 6. Ole Miss finished with a 31-27 record in 2024, including an appearance in the Lafayette Regional.
The Rebels played in the Clemson Classic, where the Tigers defeated them twice, only allowing one run to score in both games combined.
Another opponent that will be important early on for the team is the Georgia Bulldogs, who the Tigers will host on Feb. 26. Georgia finished 2024 with a 43-19 record and a super regional appearance at UCLA.
The Bulldogs won the lone matchup against Clemson, winning 2-1 in eight innings in February last year.
The team is excited to make its home debut against Furman on Feb. 11 at McWhorter Stadium, with the game set to begin at 6 p.m.
