Photo by: Braden Villanueva
CSUN Alum Denzel Clarke Set to Make Major League Debut with Athletics
5/23/2025 2:52:00 PM | Baseball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---Former CSUN Baseball outfielder Denzel Clarke has received a call up to the Athletics baseball club on Friday. Set to make his Major League Baseball debut, Clarke has spent the past four years playing professional baseball in the A's organization.
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Tabbed as a top-five prospect in the Athletics' organization, Clarke was assigned to Triple-A affiliate, the Las Vegas Aviators, at the beginning of the 2025 season. In 31 games with Las Vegas, Clarke has batted .286 and registered a .436 on-base percentage while totaling 30 hits, 25 runs scored, 23 walks, 21 RBI, eight doubles and seven stolen bases.
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Clarke has steadily moved up the Athletics' minor league ranks since being drafted in the fourth round of the 2021 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. He would be promoted to the Double-A level in 2023 where he hit 12 homers and drove in 43 runs before racking up 13 homers last season with a career-high 53 RBI. In 311 total professional games, Clarke has slashed .263/.367/.463 with 41 homers, 65 doubles, 85 stolen bases, 165 RBI and 222 runs scored.
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An elite defender, Clarke has also roamed center field in the pro ranks where he has posted a .986 fielding percentage with 13 career outfield assists.
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A native of Pickering, Ontario, Clarke spent three seasons with the Matadors from 2019-21 where he slashed .298/.416/.531 in 108 career games in Northridge. Clarke had a career year in 2021 when he became the first Matador in school history to win the Big West Defensive Player of the Year award while he also received All-Big West Second Team honors. The 6-5 center fielder batted .324 and slugged .570 with a career-high 46 hits, 30 runs scored, 26 walks, 25 RBI, 11 doubles and eight homers in just 38 games in 2021. Clarke also hit an even .400 with three homers and nine RBI in the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign.
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Clarke is set to become the 19th Matador to ever play in a Major League Baseball game. Joe Ryan, who played for CSUN from 2015-17, has pitched the past four years in the majors with the Minnesota Twins while former CSUN pitcher Kenny Rosenberg (2014-16) spent last season with the Los Angeles Angels.
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#GoMatadors
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Tabbed as a top-five prospect in the Athletics' organization, Clarke was assigned to Triple-A affiliate, the Las Vegas Aviators, at the beginning of the 2025 season. In 31 games with Las Vegas, Clarke has batted .286 and registered a .436 on-base percentage while totaling 30 hits, 25 runs scored, 23 walks, 21 RBI, eight doubles and seven stolen bases.
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Clarke has steadily moved up the Athletics' minor league ranks since being drafted in the fourth round of the 2021 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. He would be promoted to the Double-A level in 2023 where he hit 12 homers and drove in 43 runs before racking up 13 homers last season with a career-high 53 RBI. In 311 total professional games, Clarke has slashed .263/.367/.463 with 41 homers, 65 doubles, 85 stolen bases, 165 RBI and 222 runs scored.
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An elite defender, Clarke has also roamed center field in the pro ranks where he has posted a .986 fielding percentage with 13 career outfield assists.
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A native of Pickering, Ontario, Clarke spent three seasons with the Matadors from 2019-21 where he slashed .298/.416/.531 in 108 career games in Northridge. Clarke had a career year in 2021 when he became the first Matador in school history to win the Big West Defensive Player of the Year award while he also received All-Big West Second Team honors. The 6-5 center fielder batted .324 and slugged .570 with a career-high 46 hits, 30 runs scored, 26 walks, 25 RBI, 11 doubles and eight homers in just 38 games in 2021. Clarke also hit an even .400 with three homers and nine RBI in the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign.
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Clarke is set to become the 19th Matador to ever play in a Major League Baseball game. Joe Ryan, who played for CSUN from 2015-17, has pitched the past four years in the majors with the Minnesota Twins while former CSUN pitcher Kenny Rosenberg (2014-16) spent last season with the Los Angeles Angels.
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#GoMatadors
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