CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Donny Everett Classic was held this weekend with a number of Clarksville-area baseball teams hosting opponents from the states of Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio.
The tournament is held annually in honor of the late Donny Everett, who was a student-athlete at Clarksville High from 2012-15. He died in 2016 during his first year playing baseball for the Vanderbilt University Commodores.
Everett was one of the premier pitchers to come out of Clarksville, with achievements such as 2015 Gatorade Tennessee Player of the Year, and he was named to the Perfect Game All-American team in 2015.
His production at CHS earned him an opportunity to play Division I baseball for the Vanderbilt Commodores. However, his life was cut short his first year on campus. According to Vanderbilt Athletics, Everett tragically passed away in a drowning accident the night before Vandy was scheduled to open play in the NCAA Nashville Regional.
Coaches corner
“Donny was an unbelievable talent,” said Clarksville High Head Coach Brian Hetland this weekend. “He loved Clarksville High; he loved competing and obviously he loved Vanderbilt as well. Danny had an opportunity to play professionally but chose to go to college instead. He was truly a unique talent who came through Clarksville.
“I’ve been in Clarksville since 1988, and we’ve had big hitters come through Clarksville such as Wes Parsons, Ryne Harper and Alec Mills, but we hadn’t had a talent at the high school level like Donny. He was such a hard worker and a great position player too, but pitching was his forte,” Hetland said.
“There were scouts, cross-checkers, general managers and presidents of baseball organizations coming in to watch him pitch when he was playing here. That doesn’t happen very often. We started this tournament during one of my first seasons with the team, then we changed it to the Donny Everett Classic because we want to keep him memory alive. His parents fully endorse it, and we want his name to be forever in the limelight.”
Tournament overview
In addition to Clarksville High, Clarksville Academy and Rossview High hosted tournament games as well. Northeast High baseball also competed in the tournament.
Twenty-two games were scheduled, and here’s how the four Clarksville-area teams fared.
Clarksville High was one of three Montgomery County teams that went 3-0 during the tournament.
With their three wins, the Wildcats brought their record to 19-2 on the season. They defeated Bartlett High and Houston High to begin the tournament. Then they gathered themselves to earn a 5-4 comeback win against Mount Juliet.
Rossview High also went undefeated during the tournament. The Hawks began with a win again Christian County 21-4. Rossview won their additional two games against Houston High and Riverdale High to move their overall record to 15-3.
The final team that went undefeated in the Donny Everett classic was the Clarksville Academy Cougars.
The Cougars pitched back-to-back shutouts during their first two games against Logan County High and Teays Valley High. Clarksville Academy escaped their third game with a 4-2 victory over McCracken County. The Cougars have a current record of 14-2.
As for the Northeast Eagles, they had a slow start to the tournament, but ended the weekend on a high note. The Eagles struggled to find runs against Logan County and Teays Valley which led to their demise.
However, they defeated Riverdale High 5-2 on their third and final game. Northeast is looking to push their record (8-11) over the .500 mark these next couple games.