Washington’s Clayton named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year

Washington’s shortstop was honored by the Pac-12 for his impressive abilities in the field as the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year.

On Tuesday, Washington Huskies shortstop Cam Clayton was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year as the league announced its annual postseason awards before the conference tournament.

Clayton becomes just the second Husky to receive the honor, joining infielder Erik Forgione, who received it in 2014 before being selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the ninth round of the MLB draft.

Over his three seasons on Montlake, the junior from Lake Oswego, Oregon, has started every game for the Huskies. With 24 double plays under his belt and several highlight reel plays to his name, along with just 4 errors on 199 chances, good for a .980 fielding percentage, it’s easy to see why Clayton took home the honor.

Offensively, he was also a major contributor for coach Jason Kelly’s team. He holds a .273 batting average with 7 home runs, 8 doubles, and 30 runs batted in. Clayton also notched 2 multi-home run games this season, including one in Washington’s final game of the regular season against the California Golden Bears.