Sure Chris Okey wanted his last memory at Doug Kingsmore Stadium to be in the middle of a dog pile on his way to Omaha with his Clemson teammates. However, walking off the field to a standing ovation following what was perhaps his last at-bat as a Clemson Tiger is a nice alternative.

Okey is expected to be a first-round pick in Thursday’s MLB Amateur Draft, and more than likely will not return to Clemson for his senior year.

“It felt very good. I was appreciative. We have the best fans in the country here, and I can’t thank them enough for the things they’ve done,” the All-American catcher said following the Tigers’ 9-2 loss to Oklahoma State in the Championship Round of the Clemson Regional on Sunday.

Clemson fans should be thanking Okey for what he has done in his three years at Clemson. His leadership was big, especially in 2016, for laying the foundation for head coach Monte Lee’s baseball program.

“I think it is pretty special,” Okey said. “I think is pretty easy to say that we have the best head coach in the nation, hands down. I have all the respect in the world for him and the staff that he brought along with the teammates I have and the relationships that I built.

“Coach Lee is going to do an incredible amount of things here and it is going to be very special to watch. I’m very excited. I can’t wait for the potential to play another year because you never know what can happen, but we have the best coach in the nation and the best coaching staff in the nation hands down and I will do anything for them.”

Okey nearly carried his coaches and his Clemson teammates to a Super Regional. The First-Team All-ACC catcher led Clemson with six hits in 12 at-bats in the regional, including three home runs and eight RBIs. He also scored seven times, drew seven walks, had a slug percentage of 1.250 and an on base percentage of .684.

Okey was voted to the All-Tournament Team, along with his teammates Seth Beer (outfielder) and Chris Williams (third base).

“We came into the season with not much expectations, but to be able to ride out the year we had is special,” Okey said. “I’m thankful for my teammates. It’s fun to play with the guys I played with, it’s fun to be a Clemson Tiger, and it was a heck of a year.”

Okey finished his junior season second on the team with a .339 batting average. He was also second with 15 home runs, a slug percentage of .611 and an on base percentage of .465. He drew 51 walks and led the Tigers with 74 RBIs.

Along with freshman sensation, and All-ACC Player of the Year, Seth Beer, as well as All-ACC pitcher Pat Krall, Okey helped bring an ACC Championship home to Clemson to go along with a final 44-20 record. Clemson also hosted a regional for the first time since 2011 and earned the No. 7 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

“Chris Okey and Seth Beer are two of the hardest working and toughest kids that I have ever coached,” Lee said. “Their makeup is unreal. When you look at the three guys that people talk about in our program, these guys are three of the toughest competitors that we had.

“They set a really, really good example for the rest of our team.”

TCI’s Clemson preseason magazine is now available.  Order your copy of Unfinished Business – An Insider Look at Clemson’s 2016 season today.