Blessed with football bloodlines, he's one of state's top WRs. But he's among nation's best in baseball

Indianapolis Star

07-05-2025

GREENWOOD — Eric McClurg knew his son, Center Grove outfielder Drake, was going to be a gifted athlete.
The bloodlines are obvious. Eric and his brother Adam played football at IU. Eric a safety, Adam a standout linebacker. Eric's wife Tiffaney is a former cheerleader and swimmer at Delta, so sports — especially football — have always been a huge part of the McClurg's lives.
Eric watched as Drake rapidly progressed from shooting on a Fisher-Price hoop to taking swings off a batting tee. Drake shot a basketball right-handed but started taking swings left-handed. He played his first year of tee ball at age 4 lefty, but one day in the backyard, Eric noticed something usually.
Drake and current Center Grove first baseman Cayden Jones were playing a game of Cherry Bomb, throwing the ball up to themselves and hitting it before it reached the ground. Drake's hands were on the bat as a left-hander — left hand on top of his right — but he was positioned as a right-hander with body facing toward the first-base side.
"I was watching out the window and I was like, 'Let me go out there real quick,'" Eric said. "I told (Drake) to turn his hands around then I threw him a couple (balls) swinging right-handed then I threw him a couple swinging left-handed and it was really good contact and swings.
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"From about his second season on we started alternating (sides of the plate) every at-bat. Then we started going off the pitcher's arm at about 9 or 10 (years old) and he's been doing it ever since."
And so began McClurg's path to becoming one of the top outfielders in the nation. The sophomore is ranked at the No. 2 prospect in the state and No. 69 overall by Prep Baseball Report. The IU commit has elite times on the basepaths and produces exit velocities near the top of his class.
Through 17 games, McClurg is batting .354 with 28 runs scored, eight RBIs, four doubles, three triples and nine stolen bases. He's walked 12 times and struck out just eight. The switch-hitter moved from the No. 9 spot as a freshman to batting leadoff, helping the Trojans (15-2) offense average 8.6 runs per game.
"When Drake gets on base, we're a different team," Center Grove coach Keith Hatfield said. "He's a special baserunner. Obviously, he's really fast, but the reads that he gets make him a better baserunner.
"When he's able to set the table, I can steal, I can bunt, I can hit-and-run, I can do a lot of different things with him on base and it makes Gannon (Grant), Carson (Bush) and Cal (Schembra) that much better."
When McClurg gets on base, there's a great chance he'll use his speed to get into scoring position. Last Monday against Westfield, McClurg dropped a perfectly placed bunt to the third-base side. He stole second and used his speed to score on a Gannon Grant RBI single.
Bunting is a lost art in today's game, but with McClurg's speed it's a great skill to have.
"Coming here I knew I'd end up being a leadoff hitter for this program, so I have to get on base somehow," McClurg said. "A big thing in our program is bunting. We bunt guys over, and I've developed that over the last year, two years.
"It's just another tool to have. Even if I'm not feeling it swinging, I always know I got the legs, I can lay down a bunt for a hit."
McClurg has the patience at the plate, hitting ability and speed of a prototypical leadoff hitter. Add in his ability to switch hit, and the sophomore appears poised to wreak havoc on opposing defenses for years to come. There are shades of Max Clark in McClurg, but the scariest part about the rising sophomore is that baseball may not be his best sport.
The 5-11, 180-pounder produced more than 1,200 yards on the football field as a receiver, rusher and returner this fall. Football is in the youngest McClurg's blood, and in a perfect world, he'd play both sports at IU. Drake gave up basketball as a sophomore to focus on football and baseball. Clark played football as a senior at Franklin before getting selected No. 3 overall by the Detroit Tigers in the 2023 MLB draft. McClurg has plenty of time before he has to make any decision on his future. For now, his family is enjoying his feats of athleticism in whatever sport he's playing.
"I truly think with his athletic ability, the multiple positions he can play, his skill as a switch hitter at the plate, I think he can do whatever he wants," Eric said. "It's exciting for me to watch because as a dad, I always dreamed of having a son who liked the stuff that I liked.
"I'm just excited that he has the passion and love for sports, similar to what I did. ... People say he's a clone of (Eric and Adam's) mentalities and he has his mom's competitiveness."