Calvert Clark headed to Clemson baseball after third straight state title with Charlotte Christian
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (BVM) – Calvert Clark first fell in love with baseball in New York.
He grew up there and his grandfather was the reason he started playing the sport. The pair would take in the Subway Series – the rivalry games played between the Mets and Yankees – together and Clark’s affinity for the game was born.
“He kind of got me into the whole baseball scene,” Clark said of his grandfather. “We’d go out on the front porch and start throwing a tennis ball then work my way up to a baseball and all that good stuff.”
Clark said he felt like he had a knack for the sport for as long as he can remember, but he didn’t begin to take baseball seriously until middle school. That’s when he began noticing college coaches coming around for other guys.
Little did he know at the time, it would be him who recruiters would be clamoring for in the near future.
Following his move south to Charlotte, Clark immediately found success with one of the best baseball programs in the country: Charlotte Christian. The Knights have produced their fair share of first-round MLB talent in recent years with Daniel Bard (2006) of the Colorado Rockies, his brother Luke Bard (2012) of the Tampa Bay Rays and Jackson Kowar (2018) of the Kansas City Royals.
Not only has Charlotte Christian recently sent Knights to the majors, but the school has stockpiled hardware and over the weekend, the program added to the collection.
After a two-game sweep of the Metrolina Christian Academy Warriors in a best-of-three series, Charlotte Christian (30-3) won yet another NCISAA state baseball title. It’s the school’s 17th state baseball championship and third in a row.
“The goal was to win four (in a row) but the whole Covid scene kind of shut that down,” Clark said. “To see guys like Jackson Kowar and the Bard brothers come out of Charlotte Christian and set the foundation to where the program is at now, it’s pretty cool just to look back on. It makes you want to work harder to be that next team to win a state championship each and every year.”
Calvert Clark (‘23, NC) running it hot early FB 90-92/94 SL 73-75….clean 1st inning for the Clemson commit pic.twitter.com/qMHB8cf5zw
— Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) April 2, 2022
Clark saved his best for his senior campaign and one final title run with the Knights.
The 6-foot-4, 205-pound right-handed pitcher went 8-1 with a 1.72 ERA and 98 strikeouts across 57 innings pitched on the mound this season. He even contributed at the plate with six home runs and 27 RBIs, second on the team only to Ole Miss commit Judd Utermark who set a school record with 18 home runs on the year.
In his final appearance on the mound for Charlotte Christian on Friday, Clark struck out eight batters across six innings to lead the Knights to a 7-3 win before they would clinch No. 17 the next day.
poetry in slow motion //(600mm, F4, 45° shutter angle, 200fps) i’ve dreamed of this shot for years and i’ve pushed myself harder than ever to get this shot. needless to say, i’m more than proud of this shot. more shots to come from today’s game with ccs baseball! @clark_calvert pic.twitter.com/vzmwUcc8uN
— Will Allen (@__willallen) April 2, 2022
“Just knowing it was my last time ever playing on that field again wearing a Charlotte Christian jersey, I got a little emotional when I came out of the game of my last start,” Clark said.
It was a perfect ending to a special prep career for Clark, but his baseball journey is far from over. He committed to play baseball at Clemson as a sophomore in the fall of 2019 even if he didn’t feel like a Division I prospect just yet.
https://twitter.com/clark_calvert/status/1186106174334296064
“I remember when I came into the game my first time pitching (at Charlotte Christian), I walked like four guys and I kind of let the moment get to me in a way,” Clark said. “Having the experience now, I can get out of situations if it’s like bases loaded with nobody out and slow the game down in a way.”
Clark will take his rocket of a right arm to South Carolina after falling in love with the Clemson campus and the direction of the baseball program. The Charlotte Christian star called his decision to commit to the Tigers “a no-brainer” and so too are his objectives for the next level.
“Well, the goal is always to win a national championship, a College World Series, for sure,” Clark said.
The three-time state champion will certainly bring a winning mentality with him to Clemson, and the hope is that it will help propel him to a career in the majors.
Seth Beer, a first-round selection of the 2018 MLB Draft out of Clemson, made his major league debut for the Arizona Diamondbacks last fall and was a hero on the first day of the 2022 regular season. He became the first rookie in MLB history to hit a walk-off home run while trailing on Opening Day.
Cheers to an Opening Day win!
Seth Beer walks it off for the #Dbacks. pic.twitter.com/Zo7eAP3DCU
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 8, 2022
Clark plans to make it to the MLB one day in the near future like Beer, and he believes Clemson is the place to help him get there.
“You have guys like Seth Beer in the big leagues now and he’s doing his thing and he’s kind of like the epitome of this era of Clemson baseball I would say,” Clark said. “Because everyone knows Seth Beer and he’s kind of the guy that everyone looks at now like, ‘He came out of Clemson so there must be more players coming out of Clemson.’ So I believe in the whole coaching staff and what they’re going to do with me and all my teammates in the future.”
Welcome to the #ClemsonFamily! 🐾 🐅@clark_calvert pic.twitter.com/0GjmltwGvc
— Clemson Baseball (@ClemsonBaseball) November 11, 2021
