Sun Belt College Summer League Profile: Sabino Grad Preston Clifford Making Transition to Pac-12 at Washington State

AllSportsTucson.com is running profiles on some of the players who are participating in the Sun Belt College Summer League this summer at the Kino Sports Complex. Today we are highlighting Washington State freshman infielder Preston Clifford, a Sabino High School graduate.

Name: Preston Clifford

Height: 5-10. Weight: 175.

Position: Infielder

Sun Belt Team: Santa Rita Warthogs

High School: Sabino (Class of 2019)

College: Washington State

Stats: Clifford started 11 games for Washington State at second base as a true freshman before COVID-19 hit. He batted .212 with two RBIs, six runs and one stolen base in 33 at-bats. He tied for the Pac-12 lead with four sacrifice bunts

Interesting facts: Clifford was the captain at Sabino for his last three seasons, including the last two that included wins in the state title games. He was selected the AllSportsTucson.com Southern Arizona Player of the Year last season at Sabino after hitting .422 with 11 doubles, six triples, four home runs and 15 stolen bases. As a pitcher, he went 3-2 with a 1.08 ERA, .177 batting average allowed and 61 strikeouts in 32 1/3 innings. His dad B.J. Clifford coaches the Warthogs. He also was a standout at Sabino who went on to play at New Mexico. Preston’s mom Dana played volleyball at Central Arizona. Career goal is to become a U.S. Marshall. He originally committed to New Mexico State but when Brian Green left the Aggies to coach at Washington State, he changed his mind to the Cougars.

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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon.

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