By Blake Meacham–Derek Clayton has been robbed of a baseball season for 2016. The junior was walking back to his apartment from Dairy Queen one afternoon in September when he stepped awkwardly off of a foot-high retaining wall. He tore his ACL, forcing him into reconstructive surgery.
“I’m more accepting of it now, but I was pretty pissed off for a while,” explained the left-handed outfielder and pinch runner. “It just seemed so unfair.”
Out of Millard South High School in Omaha, Clayton came to Morningside with one attribute that stuck out above the rest—natural speed. He was the Mustang’s #1 pinch runner his freshmen and sophomore year, and led the team with 18 stolen bases his sophomore year.
When Derek wasn’t swiping bags from unsuspecting pitchers and catchers, he was a defensive specialist in the outfield, usually coming into the game when his team had a late lead.
Surprisingly, Clayton didn’t even know he was going to Morningside until June of 2013, a month after he graduated high school.
“I couldn’t choose between Morningside and Wayne State Community College. In the end, it came down to the fact that Wayne State wanted me to walk-on and redshirt my freshman year. I said ‘No, thank you.’”
Despite his 2016 setback, the Business Marketing and Psychology double major is optimistic about his team’s upcoming season.
“Even with my injury, this year has been my favorite so far. I can really see the potential for this team to make it deep into the playoffs this year, more than any other year. It’s exciting.”
Up to this point in his collegiate baseball career, Derek has made some great memories. His favorite, however, came during the fall season of his sophomore year, during season-finale Mustang World Series intrasquad game. After losing 9-1 going into the last three innings, Derek’s team came back to tie the game in the bottom of the last inning. Derek came up to bat with the bases loaded and hit a walk-off single.
“We mainly just won bragging rights, but after the two-week slump I was in, it was very bittersweet to end the fall like that.”
Derek is set to return to the team in March.
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