California Baptist transfer Josh Paino commits to Clemson
The Clemson Tigers baseball team landed a prospect from the transfer portal late on Sunday evening. The Tigers landed a commitment from California Baptist infielder Josh Paino. He broke the news on his Twitter page on Sunday night, with him wearing Clemson gear.
Clemson had an excellent year this year on the diamond, finishing with a 44-16 overall record and a 20-10 record in the ACC. They ended up advancing to the Clemson Super Regionals this year in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, before losing two games to the Florida Gators to get eliminated. The second game was a 13-inning classic that was one of the best games of the college baseball season. Clemson lost that one 11-10, in a game that had a little bit of everything.
Cam Cannarella put on a performance for the ages, blasting a three-run home run in the ninth inning to tie the game at 9-9. Florida hit a deep fly ball to center field in the 10th inning, but once again, Cannarella answered the call, making a spectacular over-the-shoulder catch, crashing into the wall to extend the game.
Last season as a junior with the Lancers, Paino earned WAC Defensive Player of the Year honors at shortstop. He hit .296 with 11 home runs and 38 RBIs. In 2023, he started in 52 games, hitting .270 with nine home runs and 38 RBIs. He also tacked on nine doubles and two triples. He is the fourth addition from the portal this offseason for Erik Bakich and company, joining Dominic Listi, Collin Priest, and Luke Gaffney.
In 2022, he played in 51 of 56 games, making 31 starts. Paino logged 21 hits, five doubles, a home run, 17 runs, 13 RBIs, and six stolen bases. He also recorded seven RBIs and a home run against Purdue Fort Wayne on Feb. 26th to tie Cal Baptist’s NCAA single-game record for RBIs and for fourth in all-time history.
Before joining Cal Baptist, Paino spent two seasons at Saint Mary’s College in Morago, California in 2020-2021. He played his high school baseball at Great Oak High in Temecula, California. There he led the league in home runs and helped guide the Wolfpack to a CIF Championship his senior year.