For Erik Bakich, opening weekend is about more than starting a new season.
Yes, Clemson will begin the year Friday against Army at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Yes, the Tigers enter 2026 as a preseason Top 20 team with expectations to again be in the postseason conversation. But Bakich is just as focused on what the weekend represents as what happens between the lines.
With Hero’s Weekend coinciding with Army-West Point’s visit, Clemson is preparing a multi-day salute to veterans, active-duty military members, and public service personnel, turning the season-opening series into a campus-wide expression of gratitude.
“We’ve got Army-West Point coming to town,” Bakich said. “It is going to be an exciting time, Hero’s Weekend, which aligns perfectly with the values of this university and patriotism. With what we did last year, with the fourth inning honoring of our veterans and military and public service personnel, it couldn’t have timed up or aligned better to bring in Army for opening weekend.”
Instead of centering everything on a single ceremony, Clemson has designed the weekend so that recognition moments appear throughout each game. A flyover is planned, along with expanded in-game acknowledgments and additional elements Bakich says fans will discover as the weekend unfolds.
“It’s everything from flyovers to honoring veterans,” Bakich said. “Our fourth inning tributes to above and beyond. We’ve got quite a few fun things planned, so I won’t spill the beans on all of them, and I would be lying if I told you I knew of every single thing that we are doing. But I have been looped in on a lot of it, and it is going to be a fantastic weekend to celebrate all those service men and women that have laid it on the line in the past or are currently doing so. Giving them the respect that they deserve.”
While the tributes set the tone, the baseball side carries plenty of weight. Clemson has hosted an NCAA Regional in each of Bakich’s first three seasons, and the Tigers are again expected to be a factor nationally.
Army arrives after a 25-25 season in 2025 and a rare absence from the NCAA Tournament, but Bakich views the Black Knights as a program built on consistency, discipline, and competitiveness.
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“Also to play very competitive games against, really, one of the better programs in the northeast,” Bakich said. “Historically, a perennial regional team. With the addition of having the utmost respect for those guys, just knowing we are going to get a hell of a baseball series. They will not be intimidated. They will give us everything they got. They will not quit and they will fight every pitch.”
By the time the weekend ends, Clemson hopes to have started the season on the right foot in the standings. But just as important, Bakich wants it to be remembered as a weekend that honored something bigger than baseball.
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This article originally appeared on Clemson Wire: Clemson baseball is ready for opening day against Army