Courier & Press announces 2023 All-Southwestern Indiana baseball team, Player of the Year

FERDINAND, Ind. — Whenever Clayton Weisheit toed the rubber on the mound, his Forest Park teammates and coaches were confident in their chances of winning that day.

The senior right-hander was the ace of a Rangers team that sat atop the coaches' poll for much of the spring as he shut down opposing batters. And he finished with some eyebrow-raising numbers, going 7-1 with a 0.34 ERA and 100 strikeouts in 62 1/3 innings, plus four saves. He also hit .368 at the plate with a pair of home runs and 24 RBIs.

Weisheit was a catalyst for Forest Park as it asserted itself as one of the best teams in Class 2A. Over the past two seasons, the Rangers went 43-12 and clinched their first sectional title in two decades last year. For his efforts, he is the 2023 Courier & Press All-Southwestern Indiana Player of the Year, as voted on by the sports staff.

"I am very proud to have been a part of this program of great ball players," Weisheit said. "These weren't just good baseball players, they were really great people. None of us would have been able to do it without the coaches we had along the way."

Rangers coach Jarred Howard added: "He just turned it up a notch in the past year and really worked extremely hard on getting himself in shape. That's what took him to the next level."

Weisheit has plenty of baseball role models he looks up to, starting with his father Darren, one of the Rangers' coaches, and his brothers Kristopher and Mackenzie. All three Weisheits were standout high school players in Dubois County and helped him fall in love with the game.

Meanwhile, Joe Keusch, his pitching coach, instilled in him the confidence to always keep improving.

"He really taught me to trust in my stuff and to not back down from anybody," Weisheit said. "Seeing my pitches get better and better and hitting the ball further and further also made me realize that I can compete with anybody at the high school level."

Weisheit provided plenty of highlights throughout his time in a Forest Park uniform.

There was the walk-off two-run single against Providence as a junior, for instance. He completed a no-hitter against Gibson Southern later in the year. Then, this season, he blasted a two-out, three-run home run in a 15-inning win against Silver Creek. Plus, a complete game shutout with nine strikeouts against Heritage Hills.

Everything seemed to click when Weisheit made a tweak in his sidearm throwing motion early into his junior season. He lowered his release point, which allowed him to throw harder while adding more of a break to his curveball.

Howard also credits the "longtime good instruction" from Weisheit's father as a primary reason for his consistency at the plate.

"All the success that Clayton has, he deserves it," Howard said. "He's put in the extra time. You knew what you were going to get from him on the mound (and) you knew what you were going to get from him at the plate. He just had a fantastic career for us."

Weisheit signed with the University of Southern Indiana as a preferred walk-on last December. He'll become the ninth player in program history to play in Division I. One of his former teammates, C&P All-Southwestern Indiana basketball honoree Drew Howard, will be down the road from him at the University of Evansville.

He chose the Screaming Eagles because it felt like the perfect fit — from the campus to his studies. He's eager to keep playing at the next level.

"I am really excited to be competing at the highest level of college baseball," Weisheit said. "But I know that it's going to be a grind day in and day out, between keeping up with my schooling and trying to be the best player I can be."

Howard admits it's a challenge to get to his son's games at UE because of the overlapping schedules, but he hopes to catch a few games on the West Side next spring to support Weisheit.

"Everybody at Forest Park is going to be rooting for Clayton," he said. "Our community follows our athletes after they graduate. It's going to be exciting to see what he does in the future."

Southridge coach Gene Mattingly is the Courier & Press All-Southwestern Indiana Coach of the Year after leading his team to its seventh sectional title and third in the last five seasons. Mattingly is 105-47 after six years at the helm and led the Raiders to the Class 3A state title in 2021.

Courier & Press sports reporter Treasure Washington can be reached via her email, treasure.washington@courierpress.com, and on Twitter @Twashington490.

Courier & Press All-SW Indiana Baseball Team

Position, Name, School, Year, Average

C: Drew Bradley, Jasper, Sr., .388

C: Mason Gladish, Boonville, Sr., .386

1B: Marcus Becher, Heritage Hills, Sr., .469

2B/SS: Hudson Allen, Southridge, Jr., .411

2B/SS: Reid Howard, Forest Park, Jr., .372

3B: Jarrett Kinder, Princeton, So., .405

INF: Easton Luigs, North Posey, Jr., .485

INF: Matthew Wright, Jasper, Sr.

INF: Ryne Wilhite, Princeton, So., .366

OF: Adyn Collins, North Posey, Sr., .307

OF: Tyler Rinehart, Boonville, So., .392

OF: Drew Walden, Princeton, Sr., .375

Flex: Dominic Sharp, Boonville, Sr., .328

Flex: Drew DuPont, Tecumseh, Sr., .412

DH: Kendric Sorguis, Pike Central, Sr., .393

DH: Garrett Reid, Gibson Southern, Sr., .344

P: Clayton Weisheit, Forest Park, Sr., 7-1, 0.34 ERA

P: Mick Uebelhor, Southridge, Sr., 8-2, 1.52 ERA

P: Seth Wagler, Barr-Reeve, So., 8-2, 0.84 ERA

P: Andrew Noblitt, Jasper, Jr.

Player of the Year: Clayton Weisheit, Forest Park

Coach of the Year: Gene Mattingly, Southridge

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: IHSAA baseball: Forest Park's Clayton Weisheit is All-SW Indiana POY