Erik Bakich and the Clemson baseball program have landed a huge addition via the transfer portal.
Purdue transfer first baseman Luke Gaffney has announced his commitment to the Tigers.
Gaffney recently entered the NCAA transfer portal after earning Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors as a redshirt freshman in 2024.
Just the second Boilermaker (and first position player) to win Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Gaffney set six Purdue freshman records, including hits (75), home runs (13), RBI (64), total bases (135), slugging percentage (.646) and runs scored (62). His 62 runs scored also tied the Purdue single-season record.
In addition to winning Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Gaffney garnered a number of other accolades, including NCBWA Second Team Freshman All-American, Second Team All-Big Ten and Big Ten All-Freshman Team honors. He was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week five times as well.
The 6-foot-2, 215-pound native of Danville, Ky., played at Boyle County High School, where he was a first-team all-state performer as a senior and broke the school record with 49 RBI as a junior. He was Kentucky’s No. 3-ranked catcher in the 2022 recruiting class by Perfect Game.