Clemson baseball moved under the radar with little expectation last season under first-year coach Erik Bakich. But after the Tigers won 17 straight games, captured their first ACC Tournament title since 2016 and reached an NCAA Regionals as a No. 4 overall seed, they have their sights on Omaha, Nebraska, for the College World Series.

Clemson enters the season projected to finish second in the Atlantic Division behind Wake Forest and ranks ninth in the USA TODAY Sports coaches poll.

"How will we respond to perceived expectations?" Bakich said. "A little bit different than last year where we had no expectations, and now we have high expectations. So, it's all a good recipe for creating an identity as the season goes."

What will Clemson's identity be in 2024? Here are three bold predictions that may shape it.

Clemson breaks through, reaches the College World Series

Bakich coached Clemson to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019. The next step would be to reach the Super Regionals for the first time since 2010, but the Tigers are talented enough to make Omaha.

Despite having to replace first base, second base and shortstop, including All-America utility player Caden Grice, Clemson has the reigning ACC Freshman of the Year, Cam Cannarella, and a fully committed Will Taylor in its lineup. The Tigers also added to their pitching depth with Wofford transfers Lucas Mahlstedt and Matthew Marchal and freshman Aidan Knaak.

“I think we have a better team than last year,” Cannarella said. “I feel like we don’t have no patches in the lineup or on defense.”

If Bakich can figure out his players’ roles, and Clemson hits its stride at the right time, the Tigers can reach the College World Series for the first time in 14 years.

Cam Cannarella wins ACC Player of the Year

Last year, Cannarella became Clemson’s fourth ACC Freshman of the Year. He slashed .388/.462/.560 with 97 hits, 47 RBIs, 24 stolen bases and seven home runs. He enters this season with high expectations, landing on many preseason All-America teams.

“When you think about Cam Cannarella, you have to think about the word - compete - because that’s one thing he does really really well,” Bakich said. “And he does it while having a slow heartbeat and a still mind in the batter’s box.”

Clemson's Max Wager won the award in 2022 after leading the conference in homers (27) and OPS (1.348). If Cannarella can increase his extra-base hits and have similar success he had as a freshman, he can become the 15th Clemson player to win the award.

MORE: Here are three storylines to follow as Clemson baseball prepares to open its 2024 season

Clemson takes the season series against rival South Carolina

Despite two of this season’s three games being in Columbia, Clemson is poised to win the series against rival South Carolina this season.

Besides, the Tigers are due if for no other reason than the teams have alternated winning the series each of the previous six years, and it’s Clemson’s turn in the cycle. Trust that it’ll be competitive – over the past decade, Clemson holds a slim 16-14 advantage in head-to-head meetings.

“It’s great for the state of South Carolina when Clemson and South Carolina are both awesome in baseball,” Bakich said. “I hope that it’s a Top 10 matchup. I think that’s great for our sport. It’s the best rivalry in college baseball in my opinion. We respect that rivalry to the highest level.”

Derrian Carter and Scott Keepfer cover Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email them at dcarter@gannett.com and skeepfer@gannett and follow them on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00 and @ScottKeepfer

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Can Clemson baseball make College World Series, other bold predictions