Jacksonville State University Athletics

JSU CAREER:
(2017): Earned All-OVC honors for the third consecutive season after being the only Jacksonville State player to start all 56 games during the season …  finished with a .328 batting average, a team-high 81 hits and scoring a team-high 46 runs … also had 12 doubles and two triples to go along with 30 runs batted in … his 21 walks were tied for second-best on the team … fewest strikeouts (20) among players with 72-or-more at bats … committed only nine errors on 287 fielded balls while assisting in turning 31 double plays … led the team with 26 total multi-hit games (19 two-hit, 6 three-hit, 1 5-plus hit) … had six multi-RBI games … had a team-high 15-game hitting streak … recorded a 6-hit game at Southeast Missouri on April 15, 2017 when he also had seven RBIs and nine total bases … credited with eight fielding assists against Morehead State on May 6, 2017 … batted a team-high .403 in 30 OVC games…spent the summer in the prestigious Cape Cod League playing for the Falmouth Commodores…turned in a .316 batting average in the wooden bat league and ranked ninth in batting average…was named a CCBL All-Star.

(2016): A constant offensive contributor in 2016, led Jax State at the plate with an overall batting average of .372 and was the only player to start all 58 games…collected 93 hits, including 23 extra base hits as a sophomore and drove in 54 runs, which ranked second on the team…had at least one hit in 54 of the 58 games this season, including a hit in 33 of JSU's 34 games against Ohio Valley Conference competition…against OVC foes, he batted .390 with 57 hits in 146 plate appearances…JSU led the NCAA in doubles per game (2.5) and third in total doubles in 2016 …finished the season with a team-best 20 doubles, including 15 against OVC pitching… also had multiple hits in 27 of JSU's 58 games along with 16 multiple RBI contests… put together the OVC's longest hitting streak of the season with 22 consecutive games with a hit… was statistically the toughest player in the OVC (and ninth nationally) to strikeout (one every 19.2 at-bats) while also ranking ninth nationally in hits… selected by Collegiate Baseball as a Louisville Slugger Third-Team All-American… also tabbed to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's All-American list as a member of the third team…was an All-Ohio Valley Conference First Team selection…had a career-high seven plate appearances on two occasions versus Murray State (4/9) and at Troy (4/12)…collected a career-best five hits in the Murray State contest…drove in five runs in JSU’s 25-12 win over Austin Peay (3/20)…turned in three doubles and a triple against APSU…posted his lone home run of the season vs. Valparaiso (2/20)…solid defensively with just nine errors and 130 putouts and 166…had a fielding percentage of .970…had six assists twice against Western Kentucky (3/4) and at Eastern Illinois (3/25).

(2015): Earned Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American honors after a stellar first season in the collegiate ranks…it marked the eighth time over the last 11 years that a JSU player has received the honor and the 10^th under Jim Case…played in 55 games as a rookie for Jax State and became a dependable two-out RBI producer…finished the season hitting .327 and earned a spot on the OVC All-Freshman team…finished his first season in a Gamecock uniform with 45 RBI with 27 of those runs driven in coming with two outs in an inning…collected 73 hits, which ranked third on the team and turned in 17 extra base hits, including 15 doubles…ended the 2015 season on a nine-game hitting streak and reached base in each of the final 22 games…posted 21 multiple hit games and 13 multiple RBI contests…against OVC competition, he ranked second on the team in batting average with a .347 clip and drove in 24 runs in league games-only and had nine doubles…named the OVC Player of the Week after a solid weekend in Auburn, Ala. at the beginning of March…in two games with Auburn and against Western Illinois, he hit .500 for the weekend and collected eight hits in 16 plate appearances throughout the three games….his weekend numbers included five runs scored, three doubles and drove in five runs and tallied a slugging percentage of .688 and an on-base mark of .500.

HIGH SCHOOL: Prepped at Guntersville High School under head coach Kenny Chaffin…dual position infielder with time at second base and shortstop…selected a three-time Most Valuable Player at GHS as a sophomore, junior and senior…earned First Team All State honors in three seasons for the Wildcats of GHS…earned a spot in the Alabama High School Athletic High School Association’s annual North/South All Star Game as a member of the North squad…finished his high school career with a .465 batting average and hit over .400 in six seasons in the Wildcats’ program…led GHS to the Class 4A State Championship in 2012 after claiming the Area crown and County Championship…also played football at GHS…was named the team MVP as a junior…helped the Wildcats to 20 wins in three seasons on the gridiron, including a 9-2 mark as a junior in 2012….named Most Athletic at GHS by the student body.

PERSONAL: Full name is Clayton William Daniel…son of Ricky and Karen Daniel…born on May 10, 1995 in Birmingham, Ala…has two brothers, Chris and Conner and a sister Candice…brother, Chris played at Columbus State University…majoring in exercise science at JSU.