#16  Will Taylor

Career Stats

Outfielder who was a wide receiver on the Clemson football team in the 2021 and 2022 seasons, as he decided to play baseball full time on July 12, 2023 … played his first fall season with baseball in 2023 … first Tiger football player to play baseball at Clemson since D.J. Reader (2013), who currently plays for the Detroit Lions … one of the most athletic players on the team with good speed … was one of the team’s top hitters during the second half of the 2023 season … suffered an injury in mid April 2024 and missed the rest of the season … three-time ACC Academic Honor Roll member … a career .313 hitter with a .484 slugging percentage and .470 on-base percentage in 107 games (105 starts) over three seasons … had 18 doubles, three triples, 13 homers, 69 RBIs, 109 runs, 90 walks, 24 hit-by-pitches and 18 steals … fourth in Tiger history in walks per at-bat (one every 4.09).

Baseball (2024): Drafted in the fifth round (No. 145 overall pick) by the Pittsburgh Pirates and signed in July … All-ACC Academic selection … ACC Academic Honor Roll member … hit .230 with 28 runs, two doubles, a triple, seven homers, 19 RBIs, a .480 slugging percentage, .465 on-base percentage, 33 walks, 11 hit-by-pitches and six steals in 32 games (32 starts in left field) … led the team in on-base percentage … hit .308 with a .561 on-base percentage with runners in scoring position … was 3-for-5 with seven RBIs with the bases loaded … ended the season on a 26-game on-base streak … went 3-for-3 with a Tiger-record-tying and team-season-tying-high three homers, a team-season-tying-high four runs and a walk against USC Upstate on Feb. 27; became the 16th Tiger to hit three homers in a game … went 1-for-2 with a homer, two runs and two walks against No. 12 South Carolina on March 3 … had a team-season-high four walks and a steal against UNC Greensboro on March 8 … went 1-for-3 with a homer, walk and hit-by-pitch against UNC Greensboro on March 10 … went 1-for-2 with a run and three walks at No. 3 Duke on March 16 … went 2-for-3 with four RBIs, a run, walk and two steals against Winthrop on March 19 … went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, two runs and two walks in the first game of a doubleheader against No. 7 Florida State on March 23 … was 1-for-3 with three runs and two walks against No. 7 Florida State on March 24 … went 2-for-3 with a go-ahead homer in the eighth inning, three RBIs and a walk at Notre Dame on April 5 … went 2-for-4 with a homer, four RBIs and a hit-by-pitch against NC State on April 12 … suffered an arm injury against NC State on April 14 … No. 16 outfielder in the nation in the preseason by D1Baseball … No. 25 junior in the nation in the preseason by Perfect Game … No. 55 college prospect for the 2024 draft in the preseason by D1Baseball … No. 9 ACC prospect for the 2024 draft in the preseason by Perfect Game … No. 12 ACC prospect for the 2024 draft in the preseason by Baseball America … No. 15 ACC prospect for the 2024 draft in the preseason by D1Baseball.

Baseball (2023): Won the team’s Most Improved Award … ACC Academic Honor Roll member … hit .362 with 67 runs, 16 doubles, two triples, five homers, 46 RBIs, a .523 slugging percentage, .489 on-base percentage, 48 walks, 10 hit-by-pitches and 11 steals in 62 games (60 starts, including 54 in left field, five as the DH and one in center field) … fourth in the ACC in on-base percentage, tied for eighth in walks, 10th in batting average and tied for 10th in sacrifice flies (4) … led the team in walks and on-base percentage … had three bunt singles … hit .405 with runners in scoring position and .405 with two outs … had 27 multiple-hit games and 13 multiple-RBI games … was 29-for-55 (.527) with four homers, two triples, four doubles, 22 runs, an .891 slugging percentage and a .611 on-base percentage in the first two innings … had six multiple-hit games in a row in March … had a 10-game hitting streak from April to May … had seven multiple-hit games in a row in May … Clemson Regional All-Tournament selection by going 4-for-11 (.364) with four runs, a .563 on-base percentage and three steals in three games … went 2-for-4 with two doubles, two RBIs, a run and walk against UCF on Feb. 26 … went 1-for-3 with a homer and walk against USC Upstate at Greenville, S.C. on Feb. 28 … went 2-for-4 with a double, two RBIs, a run and walk against No. 23 South Carolina at Greenville, S.C. on March 4 … went 3-for-5 with a walk against Georgia State on March 10 … went 2-for-4 with a double, two RBIs, two runs and a walk in the first game of a doubleheader against Georgia State on March 11 … went 3-for-5 with a homer, three RBIs, two runs and a steal in the second game of a doubleheader against Georgia State on March 11; was 8-for-14 (.571) with a homer, double, five RBIs, four runs and a steal in the series … went 2-for-4 with a triple and single in the eighth inning that drove in a run and scored the go-ahead run on an error on the play against College of Charleston on March 14 … went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and two steals in the second game of a doubleheader against Duke on March 18 … went 2-for-5 with three RBIs and a run against College of Charleston at Columbia, S.C. on March 28 … went 3-for-4 with a double and two runs against No. 2 Wake Forest on March 30 … went 1-for-2 with a triple, two RBIs, two runs and three walks against No. 17 Coastal Carolina on April 4 … went 2-for-4 with a double and two runs at Florida State on April 7 … went 1-for-3 with a double, two RBIs, two runs and two walks at NC State on April 22 … went 2-for-5 with a double, two RBIs and a run at NC State on April 23 … went 1-for-3 with three runs and two walks at No. 11 Boston College on April 29 … went 3-for-4 with an RBI, a run and walk against No. 22 Louisville on May 5 … went 2-for-3 with a homer, two RBIs, two runs and a walk against No. 22 Louisville on May 7; was 6-for-8 (.750) with a homer, double, four RBIs, three runs, three walks, a hit-by-pitch and an .833 on-base percentage in the series … went 2-for-4 with a double and two runs at No. 8 Coastal Carolina on May 10 … went 2-for-5 with a homer, two RBIs and two runs at Virginia Tech on May 12 … went 3-for-4 with an RBI, a run and walk at Virginia Tech on May 13; hit the go-ahead, run-scoring single in the ninth inning … went 2-for-5 with a double, run and steal at Virginia Tech on May 14; was 7-for-14 (.500) with a homer, double, three RBIs and four runs in the series … went 2-for-2 with an RBI, three runs, two walks and a steal against USC Upstate on May 16 … went 3-for-5 with three runs against North Carolina on May 18 … went 3-for-3 with two runs and three walks against North Carolina in the ACC Tournament on May 27 … went 2-for-3 with a three-run homer, three runs and two walks against No. 7 Miami (Fla.) in the ACC Tournament on May 28; was 6-for-12 with a homer, four RBIs, seven runs, five walks, two hit-by-pitches and a .650 on-base percentage in four ACC Tournament games … went 1-for-3 with three runs, a walk and hit-by-pitch against Lipscomb in the Clemson Regional on June 2 … No. 24 sophomore in the nation in the preseason by Perfect Game … No. 126 college prospect for the 2024 draft in the preseason by D1Baseball … No. 7 ACC prospect for the 2024 draft in the preseason by Perfect Game … No. 25 ACC prospect for the 2024 draft in the preseason by D1Baseball … played for Hyannis in the Cape Cod League in the summer, when he hit .214 with five doubles, two homers, 19 RBIs, 15 runs and six steals in 38 games; No. 29 Cape Cod League position prospect for the 2024 draft by D1Baseball.

Football (2022): Had five receptions for 16 yards and a touchdown and 10 punt returns for 26 yards in 10 games … had a three-yard receiving touchdown at Georgia Tech on Sept. 5.

Baseball (2022): ACC Academic Honor Roll member … hit .260 with 14 runs, a homer, four RBIs, a .320 slugging percentage, .397 on-base percentage, nine walks, three hit-by-pitches and a steal in 13 games (13 starts, including seven in left field, four in right field and two as the DH) … missed the first 45 games of the season due to his torn ACL from the previous football season … hit a single in his first career plate appearance and scored a run against No. 21 Georgia Tech on May 6 … went 2-for-4 with a run and hit-by-pitch against No. 21 Georgia Tech on May 7 … went 2-for-3 with his first career homer, three runs and two walks in the first game of a doubleheader at No. 9 Virginia on May 15 … No. 3 freshman in the nation in the preseason by Perfect Game … No. 1 freshman in the ACC in the preseason by Perfect Game … No. 4 freshman in the ACC in the preseason by D1Baseball … No. 3 overall and college prospect for the 2024 draft in the preseason by Perfect Game … played for Greeneville in the Appalachian League in the summer, when he hit .319 in 19 games.

Football (2021): Had 20 yards on five carries, two receptions for six yards, six punt returns for 64 yards and a 14-yard kickoff return in five games … had three punt returns for 53 yards, including a 51-yard return, against South Carolina State on Sept. 11 … suffered a torn ACL against Boston College on Oct. 2 and missed the rest of the season.

Before Clemson: Drafted in the 19th round (No. 554 overall pick) by the Texas Rangers … North-South All-Star Game selection as a sophomore and senior … all-state selection as a sophomore and senior … Mr. Baseball as a senior … Under Armour All-American … Baseball Factory All-Star Game participant … region player-of-the-year as a senior … Shrine Bowl invitee in football … all-state selection in football as a senior … was 136-203 passing for 2,237 yards and 21 touchdowns against four interceptions in 10 games as a senior … had 448 yards and 11 touchdowns on 60 carries as a senior … played his first three high school years at Ben Lippen School … member of the state championship football team as a senior … three-time state champion in wrestling … three-time all-state selection in wrestling … member of the state championship track & field team … lettered five times in baseball, four times in football, five times in track & field and four times in wrestling at Dutch Fork High School, where he was coached by Casey Waites, and Ben Lippen School.

Personal: His brother, Paul, was a freshman outfielder on The Citadel’s 2024 baseball team … his father, Eddie, was a wrestler at The Citadel … his grandfather, Ed, played baseball and football at The Citadel … graduated May 9, 2024 with a degree in communication in only three years … born William Edward Taylor on Jan. 10, 2003 in Columbia, S.C.