Newcomer Ty Dalley Brings Power, Experience to Clemson Tigers' Lineup

With their recent influx of transfers and freshmen, Clemson Tigers baseball fans will be learning plenty of new names heading into this season

As the Tigers prepare to face Alabama for their first taste of fall ball action, one newcomer to keep an eye on is Mercer transfer Ty Dalley.

Dalley committed to Clemson in June after earning back-to-back All-Southern Conference selections during his past two seasons with the Bears. 

While the Vidalia, Georgia native is thankful for the time he spent at Mercer, he told Clemson Tigers on SI that he eventually felt it was time to take the next step in advancing his career

“I was just kind of ready to play at the peak level of college baseball. With Clemson being a premier program, I was ready to make that jump,” Dalley said. “It was awesome talking to Coach Bakich. I fell in love with the community and the university in general.

According to Dalley, one thing that has stood out since arriving at Clemson has been the immersive nature of the coaching staff, explaining that they take a hands-on approach both on and off the field css

“They've already tried to help me in multiple new ways and I'm just growing overall as an individual and as a player,” Dalley said. “They care about your future, they want you to be the best man you could be and the best baseball player that you could be.”

Last season, Dalley led Mercer in home runs (19), RBI’s (61) and slugging percentage (.588). His best offensive season came in 2024, when he led his team in batting average (.319) and 21 home runs (third in the conference). 

When asked if he has emphasized a particular area of improvement heading into his season, Dalley mentioned that he plans on being more selective at the plate.

“Just honing in on the strike zone and really hunting my pitch to hit,” Dalley said. “I'll see my walk numbers go up and my strikeouts go down which will be huge for me because I can consistently hit for power.”

While the Tigers won't face another team until next week, they played a series of scrimmages throughout last weekend.

Dalley performed well, notching a hit in each game, including a triple during Saturday’s scrimmage.

It’ll be a busy week for the Tigers baseball program next week, as they wrap up the fall season with an exciting series of events.

On Thursday, Oct. 23, at 7 p.m., they will face the Savannah Bananas in an exhibition game at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

That Saturday, Clemson will host its annual Fall Ball Fan Fest as it faces Alabama at 1 p.m.

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