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Clemson baseball adds All-American outfielder Ryan Wideman from transfer portal for 2026 season
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- Clemson baseball adds All-American outfielder Ryan Wideman from transfer portal for 2026 season
CLEMSON — Clemson baseball landed Ryan Wideman, an All-American outfielder, out of the transfer portal on June 11.
Wideman, 6-foot-5, 204 pounds, batted .398 with 20 doubles, 10 home runs, 68 RBIs and 45 stolen bases in 60 games with Western Kentucky. He was named Conference USA player and newcomer of the year and first-team all-conference. He also earned All-American honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and Perfect Game . He has one year of eligibility remaining.
Wideman played a key role in Western Kentucky's first run to the NCAA Tournament since 2009. He likely will slot in to replace star center fielder Cam Cannarella , who is projected to be taken in the first or second round of the 2025 MLB Draft, which will be held July 13-14.
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Wideman also is draft eligible and could opt for the majors depending on where he is selected. He is ranked No. 155 in the MLB.com top 200 draft prospects.
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Before Western Kentucky, Wideman spent two seasons at Georgia Highlands College, where he hit .423 with 22 home runs total and earned junior college All-American honors in 2023 and 2024.
Wideman joins Ty Dalley, Tyler Lichtenberger and Bryce Clavon as Clemson's transfer hitting additions. All will be needed to replace key contributors like Cannarella, Dominic Listi, Andrew Ciufo and Josh Paino.
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Clemson has hosted an NCAA regional for three straight seasons and suffered an early exit in 2025. It was the sixth time in seven years that it was eliminated as NCAA regional hosts since 2011, and the 11th time in its past 12 regional appearances that it has failed to reach the super regional.
The Tigers are landing key hitters and pitchers via the portal because of expiring eligibility, the portal and the MLB draft. They have not reached the College World Series since 2010.
Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson baseball lands All-American Ryan Wideman from transfer portal
