Catfish land a big one
CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO – November 21, 2024
The Catfish have landed their skipper for the 2025 season and he will be a familiar name and face to folks that follow Southeast Missouri State baseball and the OVC. Today while filming an episode for the Cape Chronicle with local celebrity Mike Renick, Cape Catfish president Glenn Campbell announced the hiring of Gary McClure as the newest manager of the Catfish.
“This is a big deal for our program,” said GM Mark Hogan. “Gary and I go way back as we battled for years when I was head coach at SEMO and he was at Austin Peay. Every time we played those guys we knew if we didn’t bring our A-game, we’d get our tails kicked. There aren’t too many better in the college game than coach McClure.”
For those who don’t know the name, read below.
Gary McClure led the Austin Peay Governors baseball team to 13 Conference Championships and six NCAA tournament appearances as head coach of the program for from 27 seasons. 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. His teams won more games than any other OVC program from 2000 – 2015 winning 513 games. In 2013, his Governors were awarded the #2 seed in the NCAA Regional at Indiana University, the highest seed ever given to an OVC team. That same year his team won 47 games and was ranked in the top 5 in Mid-Major polls and the top 25 nationally. Twice in McClure’s career with Austin Peay, his teams three-peated for the conference title, (2003, 2004, 2005) and again (2011, 2012, 2013). His teams reached the Regional finals in both 2012 and 2013.
McClure has coached six major league players Jamie Walker, George Sherrill, A. J. Ellis, Shawn Kelley, Matt Reynolds, and Ryne Harper. He has had over 70 players receive major league contracts during his tenure. McClure was inducted into the Austin Peay Athletic Hall of Fame in February 2013, one of only two coaches with that honor.
After leaving Austin Peay in 2016, McClure was hired by the Battle Creek Bombers of the North Woods League 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, of the Prospect League. In his second season his team won the 2018 Prospect League championship with a 39-24 record. In 2019, he was hired as manager of the Milwaukee Milkmen for their inaugural season in the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball League. In 2021 McClure found his way back to the prospect league as he was hired on as the Manager of the Burlington Bees in Burlington Iowa for their inaugural season.
McClure has been involved with the Line Drive hitting and instructional facility in Burlington Iowa since 2021. McClure and his wife Amy spend their off seasons in Burlington. They have one son, Alex who played for the Kansas City Royals and Miami Marlins. He now works for the Detroit Tigers where he is currently their West Coast CrossChecker.
“Not a whole lot to add to that Bio,” said Catfish president Glenn Campbell. “When Mark Hogan came to me a few weeks ago and said he had gotten a call from coach McClure about coming to Cape and coaching the Catfish I thought he was kidding. To say we’re excited is an under statement. I have talked to him a few times on the phone and am looking forward to meeting him and his wife Amy in person sometime soon.”
The Catfish have had only one losing season in their history but being the last team standing was on the minds of Hogan and Campbell in the off season as chasing that ring is something they’ve always wanted to do since Campbell was hired in 2023. “It’s certainly not the only reason we do what we do,” said GM Mark Hogan. “But it certainly is on our minds when we look at our coaching staff and start to assemble our team each fall.”
Hogan said there will be more announcements soon on the rest of the staff and that there may be another familiar name that locals will know. Stay tuned for more announcements in the days and weeks ahead on staff, players and the 2025 home schedule.