Shushkewich: Canadian Cornhusker Clark aims to stay consistent ahead of MLB draft
Great Lake Canadians and Junior National Team alum Caleb Clark (Orillia, Ont.) has made 15 relief appearances for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Cornhuskers this spring. Photo: Nebraska Athletics
May 1, 2025
By Tyson Shushkewich
Canadian Baseball Network
The journey to Division 1 Baseball is a road that only a select group of Canadian players find themselves on.
Hundreds if not thousands of high school players compete across Canada each year, but just 213 Canucks are playing D1 baseball in 2025.
Caleb Clark (Orillia, Ont.) is one of the 213, and the road to get to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln was full of twists and turns.
“My dad and I first started hitting baseballs in the backyard when I was three years old and our neighbours used to get so mad when I kept [hitting] the ball in their yard,” laughed Clark, speaking to the Canadian Baseball Network. “My journey started in Orillia, playing for the Royals until the grade four/five area when both Wyatt Thompson and I switched over to playing in Barrie for the Red Sox (now Bay Sox). We played there for a few years, but during the summers, I was also taking part in camps down towards Toronto and the Blue Jays instructional clinics and got to stand on the field with some Jays greats like Jesse Barfield and Roberto Alomar.”
It was at one of these events where Clark got his first opportunity to play south of the border, with the left-handed fielding second baseman/shortstop catching the attention of a former Blue Jays infielder.
“I was 11 years old at the Rogers Centre at one of these Jays camps, and Orlando Hudson just kept commenting on how I was left-handed and playing up the middle, especially on the second base side,” said Clark. “He invited me to play for Team Swingman down in South Carolina, and at first my family was a bit hesitant, but I ended up playing a tournament with them in Spartanburg (Jay Criscione SC Super NIT), and we won the tournament, qualifying for another tournament in Orlando at the Wilson DeMarini Elite World Series where we ended up in the top five, which was super exciting. I was teammates with Cam Cannarella on that squad, who could be drafted somewhere in the first or second round this year, which is awesome to see.”
Playing in that tournament with Team Swingman, the No. 2-ranked USSSA program in the state of South Carolina for the 2015 season, gave Clark a taste of what the next level of baseball feels like, especially south of the border. He continued to play in Barrie until grade eight, when the Orillia product had to make another choice in regard to his baseball career.
Clark had been attending baseball camps down in London over the years and had garnered the attention of the Great Lake Canadians, especially pitching coordinator Shane Davis. He, Owen Byberg (Barrie, Ont.), and Jazari Harris (Barrie, Ont.) were all invited to join the program after a tryout, but some logistical concerns needed to be hammered out before the families were willing to commit.
“Originally, all of the families were hesitant to commit to the team because it is such a far drive,” said Clark. “Each of us did commit to joining the team, and it was eventually decided that each family would take turns driving down on Tuesdays for practice and all the different games and events, taking turns driving the three hours down and back on a rotating basis. But my parents still had to drive to Barrie at a minimum because that’s where Owen and Jazari lived.”
It was a tough decision for Clark, but one that the left-hander thought was necessary to take his game to the next level.
“Our team won the CPBL each year I was there, from 14U through 18U; we just had a ton of success on the diamond,” said Clark. “Eventually, it got to a point where the decision was made that I would billet down in the London area so I could be at the facility more, and so my family wasn’t having to go out of their way to accommodate my schedule. They had already done so much for me, and I just wanted to help relieve that pressure while still striving for my goals on the field. I ended up staying with the Noonan’s the entire three years, and I formed a really good connection with Cal and his family.”
It was with the Canadians that Clark started to get attention from other teams in the area, both from the high school ranks and post-secondary programs.
Clark got the opportunity to suit up at the 2020 and 2021 WWBA World Championships down in Florida, playing for the Brewers Langley Blaze squad and the Ohio Warhawks, respectively. The southpaw was able to start games for the Warhawks squad and got the nod in their first round robin game, with Ohio besting the Cincinnati Reds Scout Team.
The Orillia product also garnered the attention of Greg Hamilton and the Junior National Team, with the southpaw being named to the 2020 Spring Training roster alongside the likes of current pro players Owen Caissie (Burlington, Ont.), Emilien Pitre (Repentigny, Que.), and Connor O’Halloran (Mississauga, Ont.). He was also named to the 2021 Spring Training Camp and the USA Friendship Series vs. the USA U18 squad.
It was a tumultuous time, as the COVID-19 pandemic was running rampant through those two years and causing havoc on everyday norms. Borders were shutting down, nations were heightening security measures, and Clark was caught in the middle of it all when things started to unravel.
“We were in our March schedule when the world started shutting down during that 2020 camp,” reflected Clark. “I’ll never forget it; we were playing the Blue Jays extended team, and Jordan Romano was starting and throwing straight gas, and Rowdy Tellez hit a no-doubt home run. We were just in awe of these pro players. Eventually, things started to shut down because of COVID-19, and we ended up having a two-week break that March, which, as a teenager, seems great, but then trips and events started to be cancelled, and that was the lone event that year for the National team. Even with Great Lake, things just shut down.
I was fortunate enough to make the team (JNT) again in 2021, and I was named to the USA Friendship Series roster later that year and got the chance to play against some top talent – Jackson Holliday, Termarr Johnson, Druw Jones, and Jackson Ferris to name a few – and we had barely been able to play because of the pandemic. I made one appearance in that series, having to come in relief a bit earlier than expected because the starter (Turner Spoljaric) had to leave early with an injury, and I think I fared pretty well. It’s funny looking back on that series because the one game we beat them was the only game I got at-bats in, and I got hit in the helmet during one of them on a heater that just got loose. I was fine, thankfully, but the irony was that if I got a bat in my hands, we apparently win.”
For his outing against the U18 squad, Clark would pitch three innings and allow one hit, two runs (unearned), while striking out five, facing 11 batters and tossing a 63.5% strike rate. The game the Jays won was the sixth game in the series, with Clark going 0-for-3 in the batter’s box but with a timely hit-by-pitch that helped the team win 3-2.
During his time with the Canadians and through all the different tournaments he was suiting up, Clark was starting to get some attention from programs in the United States. They ranged from D1 through to JUCO, but two stood out to the left-hander, who couldn’t visit any programs down south because of the COVID lockdowns.
“Two of the early programs that really showed a lot of interest were St. John’s (New York City) and the University of Nebraska,” said Clark. “Both schools had a ton of things going for them, and it was really down to the wire when it came to my decision, but what separated Nebraska from the group was that during my last Zoom call with the program, everybody was present – and I mean everybody. Every coach, the director of player operations, the trainers – it was all hands on deck, which made me feel really appreciated. As soon as that call was over, I knew that was where I wanted to go.”
And off to the Cornhuskers he went, joining a program that was coming off a Big Ten Conference Championship win in 2021 and an appearance in the regional tournament.
The competition level was high right out of the gate for Clark, who dealt with some adversity during his inaugural campaign with the program in 2023. A weekend starter to begin his career, Clark struggled through his first few outings against San Diego, South Alabama and Ole Miss, with the left-hander being moved to the bullpen for a few games shortly after.
He would make nine appearances that season, allowing 25 earned runs through 17 innings of work.
“Oh boy, was I hearing about it that year,” laughed Clark. “The thing to remember about Nebraska is that they don’t have any pro sports teams in the state, so when you go out and struggle on the mound, you are going to hear about it on social media. They love their college sports down there. People were tweeting at me and commenting on my starts and saying just the nastiest things, and it was taking a toll on me mentally. I couldn’t look at social media for some time.”
Things changed for Clark during his Sophomore campaign, as Rob Childress became the pitching coach for the Huskers and helped the Orillia product with some mechanical-related changes. The changes helped the lefty, who moved into a bullpen role and saw his ERA drop to 7.92. He was also entrusted with more high-leverage outings.
“Coach Childress helped a lot with my mechanics,” said Clark. “I started to throw primarily from the stretch and used a sinker over a fastball to help with some ground ball contact. We tinkered with my arm slot as well, just to help alleviate some early-season struggles I was having.”
Last season, the Cornhuskers went on to win the Big Ten Tournament and booked their ticket to the Stillwater Regional, where they eventually bowed out to the Florida Gators. Clark pitched against Ohio State during that tournament and reflected on how the inning got away from him in a hurry, with the team losing 15-2.
“That was a brutal game,” said Clark. “I was just in the gutter and Ohio State was just getting these little bloop hits, and before I knew it, I had given up eight runs, and this game is just a bust.”
Not to be defeated in the moment, Clark was ready for his next outing. It turns out that moment didn’t come to fruition, but he almost got a chance to shine in the pivotal championship game against Penn State.
“Penn State is winning for a good chunk of the game but heading into the ninth, it was tied up at 1-1. We were the away squad, so we got to hit first, and I was told that if this game is tied heading into the bottom of the inning, I would be going in. If we took the lead, Brett Sears would be going in. So, both Brett and I are warming up and waiting to see how the inning would shake out, and I remember watching Swansen hit a double to left centre to score Cayden Brumbaugh, who was on second, and I put my ball down, looked at Brett and said ‘this game is over’. He just looked at me and gave me a wink, and out he went and locked it down, winning us the championship.”
A Junior this season, Clark has already appeared in 15 games and continues to build upon his first two years with the program, amassing a 4.72 ERA with 12 strikeouts through 13 1/3 innings out of the bullpen.
The southpaw is eligible for the MLB Draft this summer, but the Academic All-Big Ten Award winner isn’t letting the moment distract him from his current goals on the field.
“I am just staying as consistent as possible and living in the moment with my teammates,” said Clark. “I can control what I can control, and the more I focus on outside noise like the draft, the more opportunities I let in to not focus on my craft and see my results tail off on the field. Even if I don’t get drafted, I still have another year in college that I can spend working towards my major (Sports Media and Communication, minor in Business) and continue to form great friendships here. My family and I have sacrificed a lot to be here in this moment, and I am going to continue running with it as much as I can.”