Bio

Northeast Head Baseball Coach Marcus Clapp enters his eigth season at the helm of the Northeast Community College baseball program.

The 2024 season for the Hawks was another stellar campaign as Oliver Ward twice, Tenton Barry, Cade Grevengoed, Carter Noakes and Brice Wallar were all named ICCAC Athlete of the Week. Ward was named First Team All-Region, Wallar and Grevengoed were named Second Team All-Region and Nick Vilims, Nick Miszuk and Kale Jensen were named Honorable Mention All-Region.

Coach Clapp earned his 200th career victory against Des Moines Area Community College on March 4. The team reached as high as No. 20 in the 2024 NJCAA DII Baseball Poll and received votes four other times. Oliver Ward was second in the ICCAC in earned runs allowed with a 2.82 ERA while Nick Vilims and Aidan Brainard were fourth and fifth in the conference in strikeouts with 83 and 75. Cade Grevengoed was fourth in the region in steals with 33. Fourteen student-athletes signed to continue their academic and athletic careers at four-year institutions at the conclusion on the season.

On July 15, 2024, former Northeast shortstop Zan Zielinski became the first Northeast baseball player to ever be selected in the MLB Draft as he was taken in the ninth round of the 2024 draft with pick 268 by the San Francisco Giants.

"Super proud of him," Clapp said. "Happy for him. Obviously, we knew he had talent here. We knew his glove and his arm was always a strength, but he has developed as a hitter and that's shown by him getting drafted by the Giants. Super excited for him and excited for our program to have someone who has been here of that caliber. Hopefully he continues to develop and makes his way up the ranks."

In 2023, the Hawks tied their program record for wins in a season with 39. Six different Northeast players were named ICCAC Athlete of the Week as Taylor Gill, Nate Zyzda, Harrison Taubert, Gage Ingram, Clay Beaumont and Gabe Rodriguez all earned the honor throughout the season. Beaumont and Ingram were named First Team All-Region, Taubert and Kaden Young were named Second Team All-Region and Cade Grevengoed, Derek Woolwine and Gill were named Honorable Mention All-Region.

Clay Beaumont threw the second no-hitter in the history of the Northeast Baseball program on March 22 against Des Moines Area Community College. Gabe Rodriguez then threw one himself later in the year against Ellsworth Community College on April 26. The Hawks defeated both Des Moines Area Community College and North Iowa Area Community College in the Region 11 Tournament. Gage Ingram led the entire ICCAC in earned runs allowed on the mound with a 2.24 ERA while Taylor Gill led the conference with 32 stolen bases with fellow teammate Jackson Horn was second in the region with 26. Ten student-athletes signed to continue their academic and athletic careers at four-year institutions at the conclusion on the season.

The 2022 campaign was one of the most successful seasons in the history of the Northeast baseball program. The 2022 group set the program records for wins with 39, hits with 583, doubles with 122, triples with 24, home runs with 73, RBIs with 441, walks with 260, stolen bases with 106, on-base percentage with .430, slugging percentage with .544 and a team semester GPA of 3.53.

Zane Zielinski was named Second Team All-Region while Taylor Gill, Sam Manwarren, Harrison Taubert and Preston Tenney all were named Honorable Mention All-Region. Nate Brecht, Maximo de Leon, Parker Dorrance, Matt Dreher, Garrett Dudley, Houston Fogelstrom, Maxim Fullerton, Connor Jeffers, Manwarren, Chris Mazzini, Dylan Rodgers, Creighton Silvain, Tenney, Cooper Whitt and Zielinski all signed to play baseball at four-year universities after Northeast.

The 2021 season was another positive step in the right direction for Clapp and the Northeast baseball team. The Hawks secured a 37-24 overall record and a 19-7 record on their home diamond, while making the Region XI Tournament and winning 10 out of their last 13 games of the season. Sam Manwarren earned the prestigious NJCAA DII Baseball ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove Award with a .995 fielding percentage behind the dish. Colin Lynam was named an NJCAA DII Baseball Third Team All-American after a stellar sophomore season, tallying a .391 batting average with 56 RBI, 15 doubles and 13 home runs. Preston Tenney, Zane Zielinski and Colin Lynam were named First Team All-Region, while Sam Manwarren and Parker Dorrance earned Second Team All-Region honors. Alex Potter was named an Honorable Mention All-Region honoree as the closer for the Hawks. Alex Potter and Tanner Olmstead signed with NCAA DI schools, while Jeremy Schneider, Colin Lynam and Cade Lynam inked with NCAA DII programs.

The Hawks played in 19 games in 2020 before the season was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, many players excelled in the classroom as 13 members were named to the NJCAA All-Academic Team. The entire team was also named an NJCAA Academic Team of the Year. Twenty-eight baseball players also earned ICCAC Academic All-Region honors for their hard work in the classroom. Five players went on to sign to continue their academic and athletic careers at four-year institutions.

In 2019, Clapp orchestrated one of the best seasons in junior college baseball in only the program's second year of existence.

Clapp guided the Hawks to the NJCAA DII Baseball World Series in Enid, Okla., finishing fifth in the country with a 37-19 overall record. The Hawks finished with three wins at the national tournament after rattling off five-straight wins in the Region XI Tournament and sweeping Miles Community College in the North Plains District Championship to earn a berth to Oklahoma.

For his efforts, Clapp was named the North Plains District Coach of the Year and the Midlands Men's College Coach of the Year by the Omaha World-Herald.

On the field, standout second baseman Drew Smith was named the NJCAA DII Baseball Player of the Year and a First Team All-American after hitting .456 to go along with a .538 on-base percentage and a .897 slugging percentage. He tallied 18 home runs, 69 RBI and 166 total bases. Smith was also named the ICCAC DII Baseball Defensive Player of the Year, ICCAC Player of the Year, First Team All-Region and was tabbed to the NJCAA DII Baseball World Series All-Tournament Team. He ranked top-5 nationally in six offensive categories. Smith ultimately signed a professional baseball contract with the Milwaukee Brewers in June of 2020.

Under Clapp's guidance, Cam Taylor and Smith were named to the All-North Plains District Team, while Taylor, Smith and Jayden Sinju were named First Team All-Region. Alex Potter, Andrew Shaw and Christian Dumont earned Second Team All-Region, while Derek Botaletto and Bryce Walker earned Honorable Mention All-Region status. Smith and Walker were also named to the World Series All-Tournament Team.

Out of the 15 graduating sophomores, Smith, Dumont, Walker and Tanner Hunt signed with NCAA DI programs. Shaw, Donovan Warren, Cale Hlavac, Andrew Altstadt, Lane Koetter and Michael Ripa inked with NCAA DII teams, while David Richardson, Dylan Nicholson, Sebastian Rodriguez, Jackson Tingwald and Jean Santos went to four-year NAIA programs.

In the inaugural baseball season at Northeast, Clapp coached his team to an 18-38-1 record and led them to the Region XI Baseball Tournament.  Four members of the Northeast baseball team earned ICCAC honors for their performance during the 2018 season, and Drew Smith was twice named ICCAC Baseball Player of the Week and NJCAA Division II Baseball Player of the Week.

Clapp previously served as the University of Nebraska-Kearney’s top assistant baseball coach and as an event manager for the Loper Athletic Department. He was the pitching coach for the Lopers, where he cultivated a solid pitching staff for the program, including developing an All-Mid America Intercollegiate Athletics Association First Team pitcher during the 2016 season. Clapp’s entire staff at UNK had a strikeout-to-walk ratio of three-to-one. In 2015, six different UNK pitchers won at least three games, and Aaron Smith earned All-MIAA honors for a 7‑2 record and three complete games. John Watson posted a team-best 2.62 ERA working as a starter and out of the bullpen. Joe Smidt became the career record holder for saves at UNK and ended his career with a 3.55 ERA.

Before his work at UNK, Clapp was an assistant baseball coach at Scottsdale Community College in Arizona for nine seasons. It was there where he helped develop the Fighting Artichokes into an NJCAA Division II national power, including four trips to the NJCAA Division II World Series in 2007, 2009, 2012 and 2013. He also served as an assistant athletic director and as the interim athletic director for one year.

In his first year as the Artichokes pitching coach, the pitching staff set new school records for both ERA (3.46) and strikeouts (417). In 2007, the pitching staff reset those records with a 2.92 ERA and 519 strikeouts and sent two pitchers to the National Junior College All-Star Game. Clapp, in 2012, saw his closer record 17 saves and a nation-best 0.20 ERA. In 2013, Coach Clapp had two pitchers drafted in the third and 21st round of the MLB Draft. In addition, the staff had a First Team All-American, and six pitchers signed to four-year universities. The 2013 staff also set school records in ERA (2.43) and strikeouts (559). Eight school records were set and again broken under Clapp, and the eighth-lowest team ERA in SCC history all came under Clapp.

During his tenure with SCC, 28 sophomore pitchers signed with four universities and 20 moved on to Division I baseball programs. Clapp also saw nine of his arms drafted by MLB teams. The draft picks were TJ Macy (Brewers), Brandon Pullen (Mariners), TJ Geith (Rays), Stephen Tarpley (Orioles), Scott Zuloaga and Sebastian Kessay (Astros), Bryan Sova and Josh Taylor (Phillies) and Colton Thomson (Cardinals).

Clapp pitched at SCC in 1998 and 1999 earning All-Conference honors. After pitching at Scottsdale, he continued his playing career at Louisiana Tech University in a set-up/closer role. Clapp still holds the second spot on the all-time single-season appearances list at 'Tech.

Clapp started his coaching career as the Louisiana Tech Graduate Assistant Baseball Coach, where he earned his Master’s degree in Health and Exercise Science. After receiving his degree, Clapp moved to the University of Nebraska-Kearney to serve as pitching coach and lead assistant. In his first stint at UNK, three pitchers earned All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference honors and Clapp helped develop the 41st overall pick of the 2006 MLB Draft by the New York Yankees, Joba Chamberlain.

Coach Clapp has also coached summer league teams in the Northwoods and Coastal Plains Leagues.

Marcus was born in McCook, Nebraska, is married to Leesa, and they have three children: Wyatt, Myles and Lucy.