South Carolina Baseball: Former Gamecock leading league in home runs

The Biloxi Shuckers, a Double-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers, recently have become one of the top teams in all of Double-AA baseball. The Southern League member is led by its powerful offense, and the team is currently riding a 10-game winning streak in which they have outscored their opponents 76-26. The Shuckers are led offensively by centerfield prospect Jackson Chourio and former South Carolina baseball first baseman Wes Clarke.

On Thursday, in the Shuckers’ 10th-straight victory, Clarke hit his Southern League-leading 23rd home run, an opposite-field shot that easily cleared the right field bleachers. With just about a week remaining before the Double-A playoffs, Clarke has a good chance to end the season as the league leader in long balls.

He was known for hitting the ball over the fence during his collegiate career, as well.

Clarke was a reserve catcher and first baseman as a freshman in Columbia before starting his breakout as a sophomore. After hitting a remarkable 8 home runs in just 56 at-bats in 2020, the season was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, ending what was on pace to be one of the top power-hitting seasons in South Carolina baseball history.

Clarke picked up right where he left off the following season as a junior. The team’s primary first baseman was among college baseball’s leaders in homers as he smacked 23 balls over the wall in under 200 at-bats.

His work resulted in back-to-back All-American honors in 2020 (the partial season) and in 2021. The Milwaukee Brewers drafted Clarke in the 10th round of the 2021 MLB Draft (they also drafted him out of high school before he elected to join the South Carolina baseball program instead).

Clarke, still just 23 years old, is awaiting his first call-up to Major League Baseball, something that could be in the cards for the slugger next season if he continues his strong bat work. The Brewers need offense desperately, and Clarke can provide it.

South Carolina baseball has recently had some recruiting success, and the Gamecocks can only hope that those efforts bring them another bat like Wes Clarke.