BREVARD, N.C. – Brevard College freshman outfielder Logan Clark was selected as the 2021 USA South Conference Baseball Rookie of the Year following a breakout campaign in his first collegiate season. Clark becomes the first major USA South award winner for the Brevard College baseball program.
Clark joins an exclusive group at BC, becoming just the second Tornado in any sport to garner a major award from the USA South. Clark joins football's Dalton Cole, who was the conference's Offensive Rookie of the Year back in 2018.
Clark and senior right-handed pitcher Ben Melton represent the Tornados on the conference's postseason award list, as Melton represented BC on the All-Sportsmanship team.
Clark, a native of St. Petersburg, Florida, is the first Tornado in the program's brief league history to earn an individual "of the Year" honor in the sport of baseball. Clark has compiled a .360 batting average, a .420 on-base percentage and a .506 slugging percentage while scoring 16 runs with 15 RBI and a rookie-leading five triples. Against USA South opposition, Clark raised all of his averages with a Conference-rookie best .415 batting average to go along with a .457 on-base percentage and a .537 slugging percentage.
Clark's five triples in 2021 rank top-20 nationally, and are the Brevard College baseball NCAA-era record for triples in a single season. Through just 25 career collegiate games, Clark already ranks top-three in Brevard's NCAA-era history for career triples, trailing John Slade (seven; 2012-15) and Eric Renegar (six; 2010, 2012-14).
Melton, a native of Valdese, North Carolina, capped off his Tornado career with his best season statistically, enjoying career-highs in wins (three), strikeouts-per-nine innings (7.52) with a career-low 3.06 ERA. The senior concluded his career in storybook fashion, earning a victory in his final outing at Gil Coan Field, throwing 6.1 innings of three-hit, one-run baseball with four strikeouts.
Brevard concluded the 2021 campaign with a 13-14 record that included a 7-6 record in USA South Conference play. BC's 7-6 mark in USA South matchups gave the Tornados the program's first winning season in conference action since the 2012 season. BC ended the regular season on a tear, winning four of its last five contests to play themselves into postseason contention. Brevard's 13 victories are its most since 2016.
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