Daily Journal file photo
Perhaps it’s only fitting that when Max Clark’s name is called during the first round of the Major League Baseball draft next weekend, the city of Franklin will be attached to him.
Clark has spent the last three baseball seasons putting Franklin on the map — but as the recently graduated Grizzly Cub points out, that’s been a two-way street.
“This community, and Franklin baseball as a whole, has done so much for me,” Clark said. “They’ve put me in a lot of really good positions to do a lot of really, really cool things, and these are also guys that I’ve grown up with. I’ve known coach (Ty) Urban and coach (Jeremy) McKinney since I was 4 years old; I’ve known coach (Ryan) Feyerabend since I was young young, barely playing baseball, so all of those guys have special places, and I’m definitely going to be visiting them and doing a lot of cool things for them in the future, because they made a huge difference in my career.”
With that career set to move to another phase later this month, Clark ends the high school portion of it by being named the Daily Journal’s Player of the Year for a third consecutive season.
The star center fielder is also a three-time Gatorade state player of the year, and he was named the Gatorade National Player of the Year in June after posting a video-game stat line as a senior. Clark batted .646 (42 for 65) with nine doubles, five triples and six home runs while walking 52 times and getting hit by three pitches for a ridiculous .808 on-base percentage. He scored 45 runs, drove in 33 more and stole 35 bases.
Almost as impressive is the size of his fan base. Clark has more than 330,000 followers on Instagram and almost as many on TikTok, making him more popular already on social media than most current major leaguers.
He takes his status as a role model seriously, both with young fans and with his younger Franklin teammates.
“That’s actually the best part about it,” Clark said. “If you can do something good with being a good player, that just makes your entity as a person so much better. I have been in their shoes as a 14-, 15-year-old with no guidance, and wherever my skill set may have been at that age, I still wanted to hang out with the older guys or go out and learn from the guy who’s playing at (Vanderbilt), whatever it may have been.”
Clark’s high school career ended in the sectional semifinal round, but he still walks away with fond memories of his final season as a Grizzly Cub.
“It was amazing,” he said. “Like I’ve always said, this community has been fantastic; they’ve had my back since day one. Having a young team this year, we did not end the way we wanted to, but I feel like a lot of kids learned a lot of things, and I’m excited for what’s going to come for them. I had an absolute blast this last season with my last few seniors. Beau (Baker), Jackson (Henry), Noah (DeArmitt), all those guys. I grew up playing with them every single second, so having that last go-around with them was special.
“Even if it didn’t end the way we wanted it to, it was still an absolute blast to go out there and have a lot of fun each and every day, and compete every single day. And they helped me do a lot of cool things here, because I couldn’t have done this by myself.”
Plenty of cool things are still ahead for Clark; barring some unforeseen circumstance, he’ll become a multimillionaire in just a few days and begin the professional career that he’s been dreaming of for most of his life.
Baseball will continue to take him across the country and perhaps around the world, but Clark won’t let himself forget where he came from.
“They’re always going to be in the picture,” Clark said of his hometown. “I’m definitely excited to travel with Franklin Community in the back of my mind, but they’re always going to have a place in my heart.”
ALL-COUNTY TEAM
The 2023 All-County team for baseball:
Max Clark, Franklin senior: Gatorade’s state and national player of the year and a projected top-five pick in the MLB draft … Batted .646 with nine doubles, five triples and six homers, adding 45 runs, 33 RBIs and 35 steals … Walked 52 times and had an .808 on-base percentage.
Caden Cornett, Center Grove senior: Posted a 5-1 record with a 2.13 earned-run average and 51 strikeouts … Picked up two postseason wins, including a complete-game semistate effort against Castle to get Trojans into the Class 4A state title game … Signed with Purdue Fort Wayne.
Noah Coy, Center Grove junior: University of Cincinnati commit batted .370 with 39 runs scored and 27 RBIs … Had a 1.051 OPS with six doubles, four triples and three home runs, striking out just five times in 129 plate appearances.
Drew Culbertson, Center Grove senior: Named to South All-Star team after hitting a team-best .438 with eight home runs, 34 RBIs, 13 doubles and 46 runs scored … Finished with an on-base plus slugging of 1.484 … Will play baseball at the University of Missouri.
Drew Helton, Whiteland junior: Led the Warriors both at the plate (.443, 8 doubles, 3 homers, 30 RBIs) and on the mound (1.65 ERA, 65 strikeouts vs. 21 walks) … Pitched a no-hitter in the Warriors’ sectional victory over Shelbyville, striking out 11.
Jacob Murphy, Center Grove senior: The ace of a loaded Trojan pitching staff … Went 9-1 with a 0.79 ERA, striking out 70 while walking just 15 in 62 1/3 innings … Did not allow an earned run across 20 innings in his first three postseason starts.
Maalik Perkins, Whiteland sophomore: Fleet-footed center fielder provided a spark atop the Warriors’ lineup, batting .362 with four triples, 30 runs scored and 19 RBIs … Had a .450 on-base percentage and stole 26 bases.
Grant Sawa, Center Grove senior: Rock-steady backstop batted .317 with three home runs and 17 RBIs for the Class 4A state runner-up … Signed to play baseball alongside teammate Cornett at Purdue Fort Wayne.
Landen Smith, Greenwood junior: Paced the young Woodmen with a .375 average, totaling six doubles, two triples and three homers … Scored 37 runs and drove in 21 … Finished with an on-base plus slugging of 1.065.
Talan Steinway, Indian Creek sophomore: Batted .393 with 14 RBIs and 10 steals for the Braves … Also pitched when he wasn’t playing shortstop, finishing with a 3.20 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 35 innings of work.
Micah Vessely, Greenwood junior: Proved to be a big-game pitcher down the stretch, allowing just eight earned runs over his last 42 innings and fanning 10 in a sectional win over Martinsville … Also batted .342 with 19 RBIs.
Evan Zapp, Center Grove senior: Hit .378 with a team-leading 35 RBIs and 29 runs scored … Collected seven doubles, four triples and three homers on the way to an OPS of 1.088 … Will play college baseball at Queens University of Charlotte.
Honorable mention
Beau Baker, Franklin; Garrison Barile, Center Grove; Landen Basey, Franklin; Brock Bragg, Indian Creek; Braden Burton, Franklin; Kobe Cherry, Center Grove; Logan Connor, Greenwood; Peyton Dickens, Whiteland; Eli Ellis, GCA; Colton Flint, GCA; Bradley Gilliam, Center Grove; Trey Harney, GCA; Jackson Henry, Franklin; Arj Lothe, Indian Creek; Cole Muhlhauser, GCA; Ben Murphy, Center Grove; Jake Potter, GCA; Brayden Roy, Whiteland; Bryce Turner, Indian Creek; Brady Walker, Center Grove
