About your coach
Graduating at the top of his high school class, Chris Clayton was recruited by Randolph Macon College (D3) and Washington and Lee University (D3). However, determined to play at the highest level, he enrolled at the IMG Academy as a post-grad athlete and spent the 2013-14 year training with some of the best strength and skill coaches in the country in Bradenton, Florida. While at IMG Chris was recruited by the University of Rhode Island, William and Mary, and the College of Charleston. He ended up choosing to play at the College of Charleston, then ranked 16th in the country. Following his freshman season the head coach left and Chris was red-shirted as a sophomore. Despite his love for Charleston and his teammates Chris decided to make a change. With the help of his former coaches Chris entered the recruiting process for a third time, now as a red-shirt freshman.
During the summer following his red-shirt freshman year, Chris was recruited by Mt. Olive University (D2). He eventually committed to Chipola Junior College in Marianna, Florida. Chris served as their catcher as they went 51-9 on their way to winning the Junior College National Championship in Grand Junction, Colorado. During the National Championship game Chris was able to play through getting hit in the face with a fastball that broke his nose and cheek bone (pictured above).
While at Chipola College, Chris was committed to play at the University of Buffalo. He thought his path for his Junior and Senior year was set, but in May of 2017 the university informed him they were cutting their baseball program due to funding issues. During the last few weeks of the regular season Chris received offers from Louisiana Tech and Virginia Tech, eventually deciding to spend his final two years of college in Ruston, Louisiana.
During these final two years of college, Chris was named to the Johnny Bench Award watch list twice (changed to the Buster Posey Award in 2019). Chris was also named the team Foxhole award winner both years (player who teammates voted the person they would most want in their foxhole). Chris Clayton became team Co-Captain his senior year and helped the LA Tech team to several top-25 rankings.
Chris now aims to use his range of experience in college baseball and the recruiting process to help high school athletes and their parents navigate their way through the college baseball recruiting process. This is a confusing time for a lot of families and there is a seemingly endless amount of information that only adds to this stress. Chris knows this process because he just went through it four times. He can lead you away from the scams, save your family time and money, and put you on the best path possible towards playing college baseball. Chris can do this because he has fallen for the scams and wasted his time and energy exploring many different recruiting avenues before finding his way. Because of this, Chris now has the knowledge to help you achieve your dream of playing college baseball.