CLEMSON — Last April, Andrew Ciufo received a phone call that threw a wrench in his, and Clemson’s, plans for the spring.

A few days after suffering a knee injury in the Tigers’ win at Notre Dame on April 6, the shortstop got a call from head coach Erik Bakich with an update on his MRI results.

Ciufo had torn his ACL. 

The graduate transfer’s season, and possibly, college career, was over. While the news was devastating, Ciufo was glad it came from his head coach.

“Looking back on it, I don’t think there’s anyone I’d rather have told me than him because of the coach he is, and the person he is, and his ability to develop relationships with his players,” Ciufo said.

Ciufo’s relationship with Bakich did not spawn after the injury, however. The bond started when Ciufo was over 500 miles away from Clemson at Georgetown University in Washington D.C.

In 2022, Ciufo finished his junior season at Georgetown with a .297 average, nine homers, and 37 RBIs in 51 starts. While sitting out the 2023 season due to injury, he took note of a new winning culture emerging at Clemson in Bakich’s first season.

After entering the transfer portal in March of 2023, the veteran began a personal relationship with Bakich, who was fresh off an ACC Championship. Ciufo eventually committed to Clemson in June after extensive talks with the Tigers staff.

 “After building my relationship with Coach Bakich and hearing his passion for Clemson, and what the future is going to look like for the team and program, I knew I wanted to be a Tiger,” he said in a 2023 interview.

Ciufo quickly made his presence known as a Clemson Tiger. 

The Medford, New York native was hitting .280 with two homers, 16 RBIs, and a .378 on-base percentage for Clemson before his season was cut short. 

A month before his injury, Ciufo hit a walk-off home run in the 12th inning to beat South Carolina at Segra Park in Columbia in the first game of the annual series between the Tigers and Gamecocks.

However, the Tigers felt Ciufo’s absence as quickly as they felt his contribution in the South Carolina win. In the month after his injury, Clemson went 10-10 after a 27-3 start with the veteran as a starter. 

While the Tigers regained their footing and ended up hosting a Regional and Super Regional at Doug Kingsmore Stadium, Ciufo sat in the dugout with a decision to make.

Was it worth all of the rehab and internal struggles to come back for one more year of college baseball?

After encouragement from Bakich and his teammates, Ciufo decided that he had unfinished business as a Tiger. He announced in a social media post in June that he would return for the 2025 season.

“I kind of credit my coming back to Coach Bakich,” he said. “There was a time last year after my injury where I knew I had one more year left but I wasn’t really too intrigued in taking it because this wasn’t my first surgery or injury that I had to endure.

“But I think just being surrounded by my teammates every day and having that support system to be vulnerable around and talk about my feelings with I think that was pretty big for me.” 

Bakich, now in his third season at Clemson, is grateful for Ciufo’s decision because of his impact on the field, but even more for the leadership skills he brings to the table.

“He’s a tremendous leader. He’s one of those guys that whether you’re in sports or you’re in business, you want him in your organization,” Bakich said. “He’s got a unique perspective because, not only was baseball taken away from him, but he was staring down the barrel of never playing baseball again at a high level.

“He made the decision to come back and use another year of eligibility instead of getting that six-figure job that he probably could have gotten with a Georgetown degree. He wants to be a kid a little bit longer.” 

According to Bakich, their leader is fully recovered and ready to begin his final college baseball season. 

Ciufo and the Tigers will start the new season in Arlington, Texas,  in the Shriners Children’s College Showdown. Clemson will play Oklahoma State, Arizona, and Ole Miss from Feb. 14-16.

The Tigers first game against Oklahoma State is set for noon on Feb. 14, as Ciufo enters his final college baseball opener.