MLB pitcher enrolled at Clemson but never played. Why he still roots for Dabo, Tigers
It didn’t happen all the time, but it happened more than once.
As Bubba Chandler grinded through the Pittsburgh Pirates farm system, staying in some “pretty crappy hotels” as a minor-league pitcher, his mind wandered.
He’d think about Clemson and the things he left behind — the college town, the resources, the chance to play two sports at a big-time school.
All of it was on the table before Chandler signed with the MLB’s Pirates out of high school, ending his career as a Tigers quarterback and pitcher before it started.
“And then you see these NIL deals guys are getting — it’s crazy,” Chandler said. “I’d sometimes think about it. It’s human nature. But I’m right where I need to be.”
Considering Chandler said this at Truist Park, where his Pirates were set to play the Atlanta Braves in a recent weekend series, it’s hard to argue with his outlook.
Five years after he called Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney and told him he was going pro, Chandler’s MLB career is off to a promising start.
A 6-foot-3 right-handed pitcher, he blazed through Pittsburgh’s minor league system, made his major league debut in August 2025 and impressed late in the season as a rookie. He’s now a rotational pitcher for a Pirates team hovering around .500 and seeking its first playoff appearance since 2015.
Playing in the big leagues was “the dream,” Chandler told The State, and it still is. He loves Pittsburgh and his teammates. He wants to be the best MLB pitcher he can be.
But his Clemson ties still run as deep as ever.
Chandler on Clemson: ‘I miss those guys’
Last September, Chandler was in Cincinnati getting loose before a Pirates road game against the Reds when he saw a familiar face at the ballpark.
“Is that Barrett?” he remembers thinking.
Sure was. Five years after they tackled summer workouts together at Clemson, Chandler and former Tigers linebacker Barrett Carter found themselves at the same MLB venue. Carter, a fifth-round draft pick of the NFL’s Bengals that spring, was throwing out the honorary first pitch.
They caught up in Cincinnati like they were back in Upstate South Carolina. It was a reminder of how far they’d come — but it was a little bittersweet, too.
“I miss those guys,” Chandler said of his 2021 recruiting class.
He raves about running back Will Shipley, now with the NFL’s Eagles. He laments that he never got a chance to play behind offensive linemen Ryan Linthicum, Tristan Leigh and Marcus Tate. And he loves the fact that Will Taylor (another two-sport athlete who played baseball at Clemson) was drafted by the same MLB organization three years later and is now an outfielder for Pittsburgh’s Double-A affiliate.
Taking it one step further: Chandler’s most recent post on X has nothing to do with baseball. Instead, it’s a repost of Carter scoring a touchdown for Clemson as a running back on his 2024 senior day against The Citadel.
Swinney has also been an active follower and supporter of Chandler’s MLB career, holding no ill will toward the pitcher for picking pro baseball over college. Chandler said Swinney frequently encouraged him to follow his heart with his 2021 draft decision and is “a very special dude.”
“As a guy who never played a snap for him, for him to still talk to me and care about me, ask how my family’s doing, call me or text me after a couple outings here and there? … I love the guy to death,” Chandler said of Swinney.
Learning and growing at the MLB level
As fun as it would’ve been for Chandler to run down The Hill at Memorial Stadium, compete with DJ Uiagalelei and Cade Klubnik on the quarterback depth chart and pitch for Monte Lee and Erik Bakich, he knew he had to leave Clemson behind.
The Pirates made it worth his while with a $3 million signing bonus, three times the projected number for a player picked in Chandler’s draft slot (No. 72 overall).
After impressing at every level of Pittsburgh’s farm system, Chandler, 23, made his MLB debut on Aug. 22, 2025 and had immediate success for the Pirates team.
Chandler became one of just three MLB pitchers in the past 56 years to earn two wins and a save in his first three outings, and he had a 4.02 ERA in seven appearances, albeit for a team well out of playoff contention.
His second season has been more of a learning experience. Chandler is firmly in the rotation for Pittsburgh with 14 appearances and 13 starts and is always good for a few dizzying fastballs, but he’s issued the second-most walks of any MLB pitcher (41) and has struggled with consistency and command.
“I think sometimes people forget Bubba’s a rookie and still learning how to pitch,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said of Chandler, who holds a 4.76 ERA this year. “... He’s learning how to learn through his outings, whether they’re good or bad.”
Chandler credits veteran teammates like Mitch Keller for helping him stay process-oriented amid highs and lows. He had a strong outing as a “long reliever” for the Pirates against the Braves, and it’s possible he moves from the starting rotation to the bullpen later this season.
“You’ve gotta go balls to the wall every single day,” Chandler said, describing the 162-game MLB season as “a marathon that you sprint.”
And while he’s running that race, he’ll be staying up to date on the football team he almost joined. The Tigers went 7-6 last year and will start the 2026 season unranked, but Chandler — who often refers to Clemson as “we” — isn’t worried.
“They’ll be just fine,” he said. “Coach Swinney’s the man.”
This story was originally published June 17, 2026 at 8:00 AM with the headline "MLB pitcher enrolled at Clemson but never played. Why he still roots for Dabo, Tigers."
