It’s never ideal to have injuries in sports, especially early in the season. But that’s what MTSU has to work with, as just eight days into the college baseball season, one of its star players is sidelined due to a hand injury.

Second baseman Cooper Clapp transferred this summer from Southwestern Florida CC after a solid 2024 campaign with the Bucs, where he batted .283 with eight home runs and 38 RBI in 57 games. He showed out in the fall and earned a starting spot with the Blue Raiders. Clapp contributed significantly on Opening Day, collecting three base knocks and driving in three runs. But he broke a bone in his hand during a ninth-inning at-bat in game two of the Friday doubleheader.

“He had a hamate bone break and was able to have surgery this recent Thursday. That’s two weeks in a cast, and then he’ll have rehab, but it’s undetermined how long it will take after that, so he’ll miss a few weeks,” says MTSU head coach Jerry Meyers.

Los Angeles Angels superstar Mike Trout had the same injury in 2023 and missed seven weeks after surgery. It's not a guarantee Clapp is out that long, but a broken hamate bone generally takes six to eight weeks to heal fully. Theoretically putting his return date around early April, which is the first few weeks of Conference USA play. Losing a starter is tough, but they will now turn to senior Clay Badylak, who is in his second season with the Blue Raiders.

The Ohio native struggled in his first start of the year, going 0-for-2 against Alabama, but has put together two excellent games this weekend against Fairleigh Dickinson. Badylak has collected four hits, five RBI, two walks, and a stolen base in two games against the Knights.

“I was trying to stay with our approach and sit fastball up and pull breaking balls, keep them out of the air, and just try to hit hard ground balls,” he said following a 6-4 win on Friday.

With power bats like Eston Snider, Tyler Minnick, Brett Vondohlen, and others, the middle infielder doesn’t have to be a superstar but needs to play his game. Badylak can hit for contact, draw walks, and play solid defense. Combined with the other big bats, his production is more than enough to win games for the Blue Raiders.

One could argue that he was the main reason MTSU won on Friday, with his three RBIs and defense, which stole hits from multiple FDU batters. He’s a good player who can help his club throughout the season, and even though it’s not ideal, he got his shot and is now making the most of it.

If he continues to play like this, Badylak could still see playing time even when Clapp returns, but this situation is one to monitor as the season progresses. MTSU currently sits at 3-3, but with the team heating up, they can go on a run and rack up several wins with a weaker out-of-conference slate ahead.