Hayden Simmerson (Carson)

By Mike London

Salisbury Post

SALISBURY — ACC baseball fans may have yawned on Wednesday when they read reports about the Clemson Tigers getting a transfer portal commit from a Division II pitcher, but they have no idea.

Not yet.

Clemson baseball just got a lot better with the commitment of Hayden Simmerson, a 90s arm with command and control and fire who well was on his way to being the finest pitcher in Catawba College history. Simmerson, a right-handed closer, was a first team All-America as a sophomore, leading all of D-II in appearances (31) and saves (17). He arguably was the best relief pitcher that level had to offer.

The 6-foot-3 Simmerson was the South Atlantic Conference Freshman of the Year in 2024 and got a lot better in 2025.

Simmerson is not a mystery to college coaches, even those who coach in the big time at the power schools. About five minutes after he announced plans to transfer, his phone started blowing up.

“I did have quite a few options,” said Simmerson, who has plenty of confidence, but also manages a pleasant degree of down-to-earth humility. “But my visit to Clemson just blew me away. Seeing the technology they have available for player development was eye opening, and continued development is everything for me right now. I’ve got aspirations of pitching professionally.”

Clemson also was the perfect fit, as it is losing its two most prominent pitchers at the back end of the bullpen.

“It’s possible I will be the closer there, but my role is up to the coaching staff,” Simmerson said. “I’m just going to go down there in the fall, do my best to fit in with everyone, and we’ll see what happens.”

Simmerson was a local hero at Catawba, a Carson High graduate who was a terrific two-way player in high school and in American Legion baseball. An infielder, he was Carson’s strongest hitter as a senior in 2023 as well as the Rowan County Pitcher of the Year. Carson coaches and Catawba coaches were well aware Catawba was getting a D-I caliber player with D-1 velocity, but Simmerson was excited about staying near home to play in college for Jim Gantt, who had coached him to big things in American Legion ball.

It worked out well for Simmerson at Catawba. As a freshman, he was clearly one of Catawba’s best arms, but he bounced around in search of the ideal role. He made eight starts before finally settling in as a full-time reliever. Then it clicked. He finished the season with 83 strikeouts in 72 innings and saved eight games.

As a sophomore, his role was set firmly as a bullpen guy, but he didn’t just pitch ninth innings for those 17 saves. Catawba called on him as early as the fifth and would expect him to finish.  He struck out 73 in 64 innings, while allowing 19 walks and only two homers.

“It was gratifying that Coach Gantt and (pitching coach) Greg Brown had that kind of confidence in me,” Simmerson said. “My teammates were great. They kept putting me in position to get saves with their offense and with their defense. The one regret I have from my time at Catawba is I couldn’t help Coach Gantt win a national championship. There’s nothing I wanted to accomplish more than that.”

Catawba did quite a bit to develop Simmerson mentally and physically. He entered college at about 170 pounds. While he’s still listed at 185 pounds, he’s actually 205 now. The added weight is in his arms, legs, shoulders and chest.

He’s a good student who was in the business program. He’s also good with his hands. He’s had a summer job as a welder.

Simmerson’s career numbers for two Catawba seasons will be 61 appearances, 156 strikeouts, six wins and 25 saves.

A big challenge is coming for Simmerson right away, as he heads to the Cape Cod Baseball League, most prestigious of all the summer college leagues, this weekend to join the Harwich Mariners. In other words, he won’t have to wait very long to see if he how he matches up with Division I hitters.

Simmerson’s sister, Liza, was a starter on the USC Upstate softball team this year and got to play against Clemson in the regional.

The son of Thomas Simmerson, the pitcher’s biggest fan growing up was his mother, Sally Andrews Simmerson, a 1991 North Rowan graduate and 1995 UNC Wilmington graduate who died from cancer at 49, a few months before his epic senior baseball season at Carson.