Clemson fields Coed and All-Girl cheerleading teams (36-40 student-athletes total) as part of the broader Clemson Spirit Squad, which also includes the Rally Cats mascot team. Teams practice three evenings a week plus 2-3 conditioning sessions. Here’s the real, current recruitment process — which has changed from a traditional single tryout day to a multi-round format.
How Clemson Cheer Recruitment Actually Works (2026-27)
- Round 1 — Video submission, due March 13, 2026.
- Round 2 — In-person session, either February 6, 2026 (early admission, bridge, or current students) or April 18, 2026 (regular admission or waitlisted candidates), depending on your applicant type.
- Final round — Virtual interview (exact dates announced separately).
Confirm current-cycle details directly via Clemson Cheer’s official recruitment page, since dates and format can shift year to year.
Skills Actually Required
- Tumbling baseline: 3 consecutive standing tucks or standing fulls (not just a standing back handspring). Also evaluated: a double toe-touch to tuck/full, and your best 2 running tumbling passes.
- Stunting: toss extensions, liberties, and cupies at minimum; elite stunt combinations require a spinning or flipping dismount.
- Game-day material: a specific Fight Song with a tuck and stunt, and named sidelines (“Orange/White” and “Let’s Go, Let’s Go Tigers”).
Required Documents
- Proof of acceptance or an unofficial transcript
- A letter of recommendation
- A sickle cell test result (an NCAA requirement)
Standard NCAA physical/insurance paperwork may also apply — confirm exactly what’s needed for the current cycle with the program directly, since we could not independently confirm a specific GPA threshold or physical-exam window beyond what’s in the official recruitment document.
Open Positions (2026-27, Approximate)
Roughly 4 flyer, 3 backspot, 6 main/side base, and 5 coed base spots, per Clemson’s own posted recruitment information — exact numbers can shift, so treat this as a guide to relative competitiveness by position, not a guarantee.
How to Prepare
- Nail your video submission — this is now the actual first cut, not a formality.
- Practice the specific tumbling baseline (standing tucks/fulls) rather than stopping at a standing back handspring.
- Work on flyer technique or base technique depending on your target role, and review a standing tuck progression if that’s not yet consistent for you.
- Build toward tryout readiness with a simple warm-up routine and general jump height work.
Official Sources
- Clemson Cheer
- Clemson Cheer Tryout Information
- Clemson Cheer & Rally Cats
- Recruitment contact: Head Coach Tori Polsinello, per the official recruitment document linked from the Clemson Cheer page above.
Related Resources
- Beginner Cheerleading Hub
- Cheer Stunts and Tumbling Hub
- Cheer Gear Hub
- Cheerleading Glossary
- $500 Cheerleading Scholarship (our site’s own offering, not affiliated with Clemson)
- ACC Cheer Tryout Guides — compare Clemson to other ACC programs, including Florida State, NC State, Duke, and Louisville
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Clemson cheer tryouts in-person or video-based? Both, in sequence: a video submission first (Round 1), then an in-person session (Round 2), then a virtual interview.
What’s the tumbling minimum? 3 consecutive standing tucks or standing fulls — a standing back handspring alone isn’t the current baseline.
What documents do I need? Proof of acceptance or an unofficial transcript, a letter of recommendation, and a sickle cell test result, per Clemson’s official 2026-27 recruitment document.
How many spots are open? Roughly 4 flyer, 3 backspot, 6 main/side base, and 5 coed base for 2026-27, per the program’s own posted numbers — confirm current figures with the program.
Source: Clemson Cheerleading’s official 2026-2027 Recruitment Information document, linked from clemsontigers.com/cheer (directly verified). Removed an unsourced GPA figure and a broken official-source link from the prior version. Last checked 2026-09-21.
