Gary McClure is a former American

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

coach, formerly serving as head coach of the

Austin Peay Governors baseball Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufactu ...

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 The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in partnership with ...

baseball history. McClure played two years at Southeastern Community College in Iowa before completing his eligibility at

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

. He then completed his degree at

Austin Peay Austin Peay (; June 1, 1876 – October 2, 1927) was an American politician who served as the 35th governor of Tennessee from 1923 to 1927. He was the state's first governor since the Civil War to win three consecutive terms and the first to die ...

, 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. McClure has coached six major league players Jamie Walker,

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, Matt Reynolds, and

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. 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 Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

. He withdrew his name from consideration for the Iowa position in the summer of 2013, electing to remain at Austin Peay. 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 The Kokomo Jackrabbits are an inactive collegiate summer baseball team based in Kokomo, Indiana. They are a member of the summer collegiate Northwoods League, beginning with the 2019 season. Previously, the team played in the Prospect League. T ...

. In 2019, he was hired as manager of the Milwaukee Milkmen for their inaugural 2019 season in the

American Association of Independent Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...

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 its upcoming 2025 season.

Head coaching record

This table shows McClure's record as a collegiate head coach.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McClure, Gary Living people Baseball shortstops Austin Peay State University alumni Austin Peay Governors baseball coaches Cumberland Phoenix baseball players Southeastern Blackhawks baseball players 1964 births

Head coaching record

See also

References