Lake Region's Mac McClelland, Brock Joyce sign baseball scholarships
It was normal for Mac McClelland and Brock Joyce as freshmen to hone their batting skills together at Joyce’s parents' house in Winter Haven. And eventually, they would get around to discussing the possibility of signing college baseball scholarships when they got older.
From the age of 8 and well through their teens, McClelland and Joyce trained together, played on the same Little League teams and were teammates at Lake Region High — McClelland a centerfielder, Joyce a pitcher.
And they recently fulfilled their wish of signed scholarships to play at the next level — McClelland is going to Webber International and Joyce will attend rival Warner University.
And it looks like they will be playing against each other in the future.
“it’s pretty surreal, to be honest, because we literally played everything together ... we played Little League baseball, basketball, everything. So it’s pretty crazy to be on the other side of the line against him and face him on the mound,” McClelland said.
Joyce agreed. “It’s definitely going to be different because we are both so competitive," he said. "But at the end of the day, off the field, we are still going to be great friends. But we are definitely going to compete to the best of our abilities.”
As both Polk County players became friends, their dads also grew a friendship. Attending each other’s birthdays and celebrating holidays was the norm.
Still, the bread and the butter of the friendship was the training they did in the batting cage or on the mound at Joyce's father's house.
“We always have been throwing partners and as time went, we got closer and closer. And now we are almost brothers,” Joyce said. “We both have grown a lot over time and we have been through everything together.”
Baseball skills evolve in high school
Following the days of Little League, a relationship with Lake Region head coach Bill Bullock — along with playing summer American Legion baseball with Lake Region as eighth-graders — made it easy for the pair to choose the Thunder as their high school program. Also, Joyce’s father was an assistant coach at Lake Region.
Both played junior varsity until their junior year when the duo led Lake Region to the district semifinal.
In his first varsity at-bat Joyce hit a two-run homer vs. Frostproof. Another highlight came in the district semifinals against Lakes Wales. Joyce was in the middle of pitching a complete game, but in the seventh inning, McClelland retrieved a single up the middle and threw out a runner trying to score from third base to keep the game at 0-0.
“I just remember, I turned around and we’re super-hyped ... chest-bumping and yelling and stuff,” McClelland said. "(That) was a pretty awesome game."
By the time their senior season rolled around, the Winter Haven natives were able to help Lake Region get to the district championship game — a contest the Thunder lost to McKeel Academy.
While that senior season did not end up the way they would have liked, both players had solid careers at Lake Region. This past season they were selected as Honorable Mention all-county players and Joyce was a first-team selection his junior year.
McClelland in four years batted .285 with 39 walks, 38 stolen bases while scoring 22 runs. He is also a Roger White scholar athlete.
Joyce for his high school career had 165 strikeouts, 23 walks, posted an ERA of 1.5 and a had a total of 15 wins. He also is Sullivan scholar athlete, won Bullock's 600th game as a freshman in 2019, and won Lake Region's 400th game in 2021.
And in the end, both signed scholarships.
McClelland said he was on board with Webber once he visited the campus.
“I liked the campus. It was very homey to me,” McClelland said. “And I also have buddies that are there right now. I just felt like it was a really good option for me and I’m so excited and blessed.”
Joyce said he chose Warner because it felt right from the get-go.
“I went to a workout at Warner and threw a bullpen and the coaches loved me, and I loved the coaching staff,” Joyce said. “I took a tour of the school and just fell in love with the atmosphere and the field. I just felt like it was the right fit for me.”
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Lake Region's Mac McClelland, Brock Joyce sign baseball scholarships
