CLEMSON — It was an exciting 2024-25 for Clemson athletics as programs captured championships, ended postseason droughts and set team records.
No Clemson program won a national championship, but multiple teams made strides to have a memorable seasons. Its football, softball and indoor women’s track and field team also won ACC championships.
With no more games until August, here were the top five moments from Clemson athletics in the 2024-25 season:
1. Clemson snaps College Football Playoff drought after walk-off field goal
It was essentially a CFP play-in game for Clemson when it faced SMU in the ACC championship. The Tigers outlasted the Mustangs thanks to freshman kicker Nolan Hauser‘s walk-off 56-yard field goal. His clutch kick was set up after Adam Randall returned a kickoff for 41 yards, then quarterback Cade Klubnik completed a 17-yard pass to wide receiver Antonio Williams.
The win ended Clemson’s three-year CFP absence and first ACC title since 2022. Hauser became a Clemson legend, and Tigers coach Dabo Swinney showed his high school recruiting and developing philosophy was strong enough to get his program back to the playoffs.
2. Clemson softball, John Rittman win first ACC Tournament
Outside of a Women’s College World Series appearance, coach John Rittman’s program was missing an ACC Tournament championship. His team broke through after six seasons after earning comeback wins against Virginia, Virginia Tech and Florida State in the conference tournament.
Taylor Pipkins crushed a go-ahead grand slam in the sixth inning for Clemson to beat Virginia in the quarterfinals. The Tigers scored eight unanswered runs in the sixth to beat Virginia Tech in the semifinals. In the championship game, Kylee Johnson crushed a go-ahead two-run homer in the seventh. Clemson’s late-game heroics helped it earn a national seed in the NCAA Tournament.
3. Clemson basketball upsets Kentucky, Duke
Littlejohn Coliseum was home to two court stormings courtesy of Clemson basketball. The Tigers defeated No. 6 Kentucky on Dec. 4 after Ian Schieffelin recorded an 11-point, 20-rebound double-double.
Then, Clemson upset No. 2 Duke on Feb. 8., beating projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft Cooper Flagg and ending the Blue Devils’ 16-game winning streak. Chase Hunter’s emphatic block in the final seconds ignited Clemson fans and helped the Tigers have the most single-season regular season and conference wins in program history.
4. Cade Klubnik’s game-winning 50-yard rushing touchdown vs Pitt
Before Clemson made the ACC title game, it needed to beat Pitt in its final conference game. Trailing 20-17 with 1:23 left, Klubnik lifted the Tigers to victory. On second-and-3, Klubnik split his six blockers up the middle on a designed run, cut right to head toward the sideline then went up the field and broke a shoestring tackle to score the game-winning 50-yard touchdown.
According to ESPN Analytics, Pitt had a 71.4% chance to win before Klubnik’s run. His growth last season was key for Clemson, and this momentous run was among his top plays.
5. Clemson lacrosse, gymnastics earn first NCAA Tournament wins
Two of Clemson’s newer programs got a taste of postseason success. The lacrosse team finished with a 14-7 record in its third season and beat ranked Navy 11-8 in its first NCAA Tournament game.
Clemson gymnastics also captured its first NCAA Tournament win, beating Rutgers, in its second season.
Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson sports top moments 2024-25 include Dabo Swinney, Cade Klubnik