Dillon Clift, Soddy-Daisy catcher, has signed a baseball scholarship with East Tennessee State. At a signing party, Clift was joined by his father, Brent, and mother, Diana. Back row, left to right, are grandparents Larry and Jan Clift and Glenda and Danny Payne.
Senior Dillon Clift has been around – the baseball diamond, that is – in three years playing for Soddy-Daisy coach Jared Hensley’s Trojans.
Clift is expected to extend his role in his senior season to the mound.
“I’m going to pitch a little bit this year,” said Clift, who has signed a scholarship with East Tennessee State University.
Clift, who was recruited as a catcher by the Bucs, has also played at first base, third and in the outfield.
The last time he pitched for the Trojans was against Cookeville in last spring’s Trojan Classic.
“We try to get him some breaks (from catching) on the weekend because we have a lot of confidence in junior Grant Cordell as well,” Hensley said. “Dillon will probably DH some, he can go in the infield and outfield and we may even stick him on the mound.”
But, Clift is most at home behind the plate.
“He’s been a huge part of our success since he was in the ninth grade,” Hensley said. “He started as a freshman and we’re looking at him to be a much-improved as a baseball player and leader in general this coming year.
“He’s been more committed to that more this offseason and I’ve seen him mature. He knows there’s still got work to do and we’ve got work to do as a team. Dillon will help us do that.”
Clift batted .351 as a junior and had a .495 slugging percentage. He hit three home runs, seven doubles and drove in 20 runs as the Trojans reached the Region 3-AAA championship game, where they lost to Cookeville, 8-4.
The following day Soddy-Daisy was beaten by Riverdale, 2-0, in the Class 3A Sectional, ending their season.
Clift also considered Lincoln Memorial, Tennessee Tech, Lee University and Carson-Newman. He visited all those schools except Tennessee Tech.
“I was leaning toward LMU, but when ETSU started recruiting me it was a no-doubter for me,” Clift said. “The campus is beautiful and I thought it was always a place I wanted to go. They saw me play during the fall at Lake Point in Atlanta.
“They called me in, probably, mid-October and talked to me about their catching situation and how I was a good fit for them. They liked the way I swung the bat and said I have a chance to go up there and compete for a position. They really want me to catch.”
Clift played offseason baseball for the Brandon Turner Baseball Academy.
ETSU, which officially became a return member of the Southern Conference – the Bucs were in the league from 1978-2005 – in June after leaving the Atlantic Sun Conference, went 27-30 this past season. They beat No. 2 seed Mercer and lost to No. 3 Kennesaw State and No. 7 Stetson in the postseason tournament.
Under coach Tony Skole, ETSU won 36 games, third-best total in program history, in 2013, won the ASC tournament title and earned its first NCAA Regional berth since 1981.
Based on what he’s done over three years for the Trojans, Hensley said Clift has a tremendous opportunity at ETSU.
“He’s unbelievable behind the plate and has good arm strength,” Hensley said. “One thing he’s really improved on over the past year is paying attention to bullpen sessions with Jamie Tricoglu, our pitching coach, so he can be an extension of the coach on the field.”
(E-mail Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @larryfleming44)