Growing up in New York and spending four years of college at Geogetown, Andrew Ciufo could have never expected to finish out his college career at Clemson.
The shortstop was born and raised in Medford, N.Y. He attended Patchogue-Medford High School for three years and Phillips Academy for one year, as he lettered on the diamond four times. It seemed inevitable that the middle infielder would get into baseball from a young age, as his father played baseball at Lynn, a Division II university in Boca Raton, Fla. Ciufo’s older brother, Richard, also played baseball at Brown. All three family members played in the middle infield.
“In terms of why I play baseball, my dad grew up playing baseball. He was the first in his family to go to college. Between him and the way my brother played the game, my dad always said he breeds middle infielders. Between those two people in my life, that’s definitely why I have worked so hard.”
Ciufo’s brother is three-and-a-half years older. The two were able to spend time playing on the same summer ball teams growing up, which Ciufo referred to as a transformational experience.
“We drove each other, especially when I was at Georgetown and he was at Brown, for the couple of years that we were in college baseball together. During the season, we could play our games and then come home and talk about our bats. As we got older in age, we became even closer. I actually played a couple weeks of summer ball with him and we got to turn some double plays. He’s my best friend.”
Ciufo committed and signed to play at Georgetown out of high school. He spent four years at the university playing in the Big East Conference. He believes his time at Georgetown helped him prepare for this stage of his career at Clemson.
“I didn’t honestly have many opportunities out of high school in terms of a college. Georgetown was by far the best opportunity. I had known a few guys who had already been there. The transition from Big East to ACC was definitely a big one. The biggest was the level of pitching that you see on a consistent basis.”
After four years at Georgetown, the shortstop transferred to Clemson in the fall of 2023 to play what he expected to be his last year in college. After a solid start to his Clemson career with a .280 batting average and a walkoff homer to beat rival South Carolina, Ciufo’s season ended abruptly when he tore his ACL is a midseason series at Notre Dame. Ciufo had full reconstruction on his knee. He spent time debating whether his college career was over before ultimately deciding he would return to Clemson for the 2025 season.
“I’ve learned a lot. It’s definitely a long process. This isn’t my first injury, so I knew that it would be months of physical therapy, especially with a knee reconstruction. I wasn’t sure how fast I’d come back. It took me a while to make the decision to come back, because part of me was trying to cope with the possibility of my career being done. Another part was trying not to rush into getting a real job and rush the start of my life.”
Above all, Ciufo credited his relationship with Head Coach Erik Bakich as a main driver for his reason to return to Clemson and utilize his final year of eligibility.
“He helped me out with that decision and told me that I would never regret it. Even though it was tough for me, that experience with him built our relationship a lot. We have a very respectful relationship. Myself along with all the other guys can connect with him on a personable level or a coach level.”
There is no doubt #5 has learned a lot during what many would describe as a “roller coaster college career.” Ciufo hopes that his overall experience on the field, combined with his experience battling through adversity, will continue to empower himself and give him an edge in his final year at Clemson.
