Gary McClure is a former American college baseball coach, formerly serving as head coach of the Austin Peay Governors baseball program. He was named to that position prior to the 1988 season. With 847 wins, McClure is the winningest coach in Austin Peay baseball history, as well as the winningest coach in Ohio Valley Conference baseball history.[1][2][3]
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 2, 1964 Keosauqua, Iowa, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Austin Peay, '87 |
| Playing career | |
| 1983–1984 | Southeastern CC (IA) |
| 1985–1986 | Cumberland |
| Position(s) | SS |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1987 | Austin Peay (asst.) |
| 1988–2015 | Austin Peay |
| 2021 | Burlington Bees |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 847–750–4 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| OVC Regular season: 7 (1994, 1996, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2011, 2012) OVC Tournament: 6 (1996, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2013) | |
| Awards | |
| Inducted into Austin Peay Athletic Hall of Fame (2012) | |
| Records | |
| Austin Peay All Time Wins Leader (847) Ohio Valley Conference All Time Wins Leader (847) Most Ohio Valley Conference Games Won (363) | |
McClure played two years at Southeastern Community College in Iowa before completing his eligibility at Cumberland. He then completed his degree at Austin Peay, and served as a student assistant coach. With the retirement of then-coach Billy Merkel, McClure was hired as head coach just two years removed from his playing days. Under McClure, the Governors won thirteen regular season and tournament OVC titles. They appeared in six NCAA Regionals.[1] McClure has coached six major league players Jamie Walker, George Sherrill, A. J. Ellis, Shawn Kelley, Matt Reynolds, and Ryne Harper. McClure was inducted into the Austin Peay Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012. McClure has been a candidate for several major conference coaching vacancies, most recently at Iowa. He withdrew his name from consideration for the Iowa position in the summer of 2013, electing to remain at Austin Peay.[2]
McClure was hired by the Battle Creek Bombers of the North Woods League in 2016 where his team finished with a record of 40-33 while going 21-16 in the second half. They made the playoffs for only the second time in the team's ten year history. They beat the Madison Mallards in the first round and then lost in the semifinals to the Rapids Rafters, the eventual 2016 champion.
In 2017, McClure was hired by the Kokomo Jackrabbits. In 2019, he was hired as manager of the Milwaukee Milkmen for their inaugural 2019 season in the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball but was not retained for 2020 following the team's 38-62 performance. In 2021 McClure was hired as the Manager by the Burlington Bee's for its inaugural season in the Prospect League a collegiate summer Baseball league in Burlington Iowa. In 2024 McClure was hired as the manager by the Cape Catfish in Cape Girardeau Missouri in the Prospect League a collegiate summer Baseball league for it's upcoming 2025 season.
Head coaching record
editThis table shows McClure's record as a collegiate head coach.[4]
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin Peay (Ohio Valley Conference) (1988–present) | |||||||||
| 1988 | Austin Peay | 23–27 | 10–12 | 3rd (South) | |||||
| 1989 | Austin Peay | 32–25–1 | 10–7 | 3rd | OVC Tournament[a] | ||||
| 1990 | Austin Peay | 31–25 | 6–8 | 4th | OVC Tournament[b] | ||||
| 1991 | Austin Peay | 15–37–1 | 6–11 | 5th | |||||
| 1992 | Austin Peay | 29–28–1 | 14–7 | 2nd | OVC Tournament[c] | ||||
| 1993 | Austin Peay | 30–22 | 13–8 | 5th | |||||
| 1994 | Austin Peay | 27–31 | 12–6 | 1st | OVC Tournament[d] | ||||
| 1995 | Austin Peay | 24–32 | 9–12 | 6th | |||||
| 1996 | Austin Peay | 44–22 | 13–7 | T-1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 1997 | Austin Peay | 28–31 | 14–10 | 3rd | OVC Tournament[e] | ||||
| 1998 | Austin Peay | 23–32 | 9–15 | 8th | |||||
| 1999 | Austin Peay | 29–27 | 13–10 | 5th | |||||
| 2000 | Austin Peay | 32–27 | 14–10 | 4th | OVC Tournament[f] | ||||
| 2001 | Austin Peay | 32–30 | 9–12 | 5th | OVC Tournament[g] | ||||
| 2002 | Austin Peay | 30–27 | 12–9 | 3rd | OVC Tournament[h] | ||||
| 2003 | Austin Peay | 27–27–1 | 14–5–1 | 1st | OVC Tournament[i] | ||||
| 2004 | Austin Peay | 35–21 | 20–7 | 1st | OVC Tournament[j] | ||||
| 2005 | Austin Peay | 38–24 | 16–11 | 2nd | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 2006 | Austin Peay | 32–27 | 14–13 | 5th | OVC Tournament[k] | ||||
| 2007 | Austin Peay | 40–22 | 19–8 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 2008 | Austin Peay | 27–29 | 14–12 | 3rd | OVC Tournament[l] | ||||
| 2009 | Austin Peay | 22–30 | 7–12 | 9th | |||||
| 2010 | Austin Peay | 28–25 | 8–13 | 7th | |||||
| 2011 | Austin Peay | 34–24 | 17–8 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 2012 | Austin Peay | 40–24 | 19–7 | T-1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 2013 | Austin Peay | 47–15 | 22–7 | 2nd | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 2014 | Austin Peay | 23–33 | 14–16 | T-7th | |||||
| 2015 | Austin Peay | 25-26 | 15-15 | 7th | |||||
| Austin Peay: | 847–750–4 | 363–292–1 | |||||||
| Total: | 847–750–4 | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
- ^ The top four finishers in the OVC qualified for the Tournament in 1989.
- ^ The top four finishers in the OVC qualified for the Tournament in 1990
- ^ The top four finishers in the OVC qualified for the tournament in 1992.
- ^ The top four finishers in the OVC qualified for the tournament in 1994.
- ^ The top four finishers in the OVC qualified for the tournament in 1997.
- ^ The top four finishers in the OVC qualified for the tournament in 2008.
- ^ The top six finishers in the OVC qualified for the tournament in 2001.
- ^ The top six finishers in the OVC qualified for the tournament in 2002.
- ^ The top six finishers in the OVC qualified for the tournament in 2003.
- ^ The top six finishers in the OVC qualified for the tournament in 2004.
- ^ The top six finishers in the OVC qualified for the tournament in 2006.
- ^ The top six finishers in the OVC qualified for the tournament in 2008.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Gary McClure". Austin Peay State Governors. Archived from the original on June 6, 2013. Retrieved October 6, 2013.
- ^ a b "Austin Peay State University Baseball's Gary McClure withdraws name from consideration for Iowa Head Coaching Job". Clarksville Online. July 10, 2013. Retrieved October 6, 2013.
- ^ Chris Austin (April 5, 2013). "Austin Peay State University baseball coach Gary McClure becomes OVC all-time wins leader; Govs beat Tech 7-3". Clarksville Sports Network. Retrieved October 6, 2013.
- ^ 2012 Media Guide (PDF). Austin Peay State Governors. p. 29. Retrieved October 6, 2013.