This article is one in a series of articles about what life looks like in Butler County ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary on July 4, 2026. Stories in this series aim to showcase what it’s like to live, work, play and serve in Butler County during this moment in history.

BUTLER TWP —Midway through his sophomore baseball season, Butler’s Mavrik Clement moved from shortstop to behind the plate.

His career’s been climbing ever since.

“He was struggling at the plate, and we had issues defensively at catcher,” Butler coach Josh Forbes said. ”We asked Mav to give it a try back there. We knew he had the baseball knowledge to make a go of it.“

Much of that knowledge came from his family. His father — Butler pitching coach Matt Clement — won 87 games in the major leagues. His older brothers — Mattix and Madden — played basketball and baseball at Butler. Madden is a starting pitcher for Virginia Tech University.

His younger sister, Mallie, will be a Level 10 gymnast in the fall, was a Level 9 state vault champion and overall medalist in states, regionals and easterns this year.

And after completing a four-year basketball career himself, Mavrik is thriving behind the plate.

“I’ve been playing baseball since T-Ball,” Mavrik said. “But I was always a middle infielder. I had never caught until they asked me to do it.

“I was open to the idea. I didn’t know how long it would last, or if I would last back there, but I went for it. It took a little while, but I’ve settled in.”

Not only has Clement provided a steady influence behind the plate for senior pitchers Kyle Casteel and Nolan Stefaniak, who are both headed to Division I college teams with the possibility of being selected in the major league draft, he also has developed into one of the most clutch bats on the team.

Hitting under .200 his sophomore year at the time of the position change, Clement took a.321 batting average into the PIAA Class 6A semifinals this season. He leads the Golden Tornado with three home runs, eight doubles and a .635 slugging percentage.

He’s drawn 16 walks and has struck out only 13 times in 70 plate appearances his senior season.

Clement also leads Butler with a .995 fielding percentage while playing one of the game’s most challenging positions.

“He’s really worked at it,” Matt said of his son’s skills as a catcher. “He has a natural arm and throw from back there. Mav’s been catching Kyle and Nolan for three years now and that’s helped him develop defensively.

“Those guys were still throwing hard as sophomores, but they weren’t sure where those pitches were going back then. As they developed their skills, Mav developed his skills.”

Clement delivered the game-winning hit in Butler’s WPIAL championship win over North Allegheny. He homered in the Tornado’s 2-1 PIAA first-round win over Mifflin County. He delivered a walk-off RBI double to defeat Chambersburg, 3-2, in the state quarterfinals.

“Catching has definitely helped me as a hitter,” Mavrik said. “Not only has it made me more involved in the game, but I learned how to pick up the spin and rotation of the ball quicker.

“Every umpire has a different strike zone, and I’ve picked up on that while being behind the plate. I can tell if the umpire is calling strikes low or high, in or out. I use that information when I’m at the plate.”

While his sister is collecting gymnastics medals and his brothers were part of a WPIAL championship basketball season at Butler, Mavrik now has something no one else in his family — including his father — ever achieved: Playing on a WPIAL championship baseball team.

Matt Clement played on the 1992 Butler baseball team that reached the WPIAL final, but lost.

“That’s something I’ll always have on them,” Mavrik said, smiling. “But I’ve always had my brothers to lean on. I can go to them with a question about anything and I’ve done that often. They’ve always been there for me.”

Mavrik is headed to the University of Pittsburgh in the fall and will play baseball there. He’s also played for the Pittsburgh Spikes travel team and is playing for the Butler Iron Bucks this summer.

Catching has become his full-time home in baseball.

“Mavrik’s still harnessing his skills,” his father said. “Even during basketball season, he would head down to Battleground (baseball training facility) in Callery after practice and catch Kyle and Nolan, along with other top pitchers in the area. He’s caught minor league pitchers there.

“That’s the biggest difference between baseball now and when I played, the training regimen. There’s more sophisticated training techniques and knowledge out there now. Players get so much better younger and quicker now.

He remembers students jumping from one sport to the next.

“That’s still going on, but you have a lot of young athletes dedicated to one sport 365 days a year today. That wasn’t the case when I played.”

Forbes said the advanced training today definitely helped Mavrik develop his catching skills.

“You figure, when he first went back there, he had zero reps,” Forbes said of Clement as a catcher. “You’d see some flinching going on, some uneasiness ... That’s where that training pays off. He fine-tuned his skill-set back there and toward the end of last season, it was like, yeah, he’s got it.”

And he parlayed it into a baseball scholarship at Pitt.

“Do I get that scholarship if I was still a middle infielder? I don’t know,” Mavrik admitted. “I sort of doubt it. Catching made me a better player.”

His father said being a catcher will likely earn Mavrik playing time with the Panthers sooner rather than later.

“You look at middle infielders at the Division I level. The coaches use the (transfer) portal to find those guys now because the really great shortstops in high school are getting drafted,” he said. “But catcher is a different animal. It’s a tough position to master and tougher yet for a high school catcher to transition to catching Division I college arms.

“Mav has an advantage there. For a couple of years now, he’s been catching guys who throw as hard - if not harder - than the guys he’ll be catching in college.”

Forbes pointed out that “players’ knowledge today of baseball, how to play the game in certain situations, isn’t what it used to be. But Mavrik has that element working for him.”

Like his three sons, Matt Clement played baseball at Pullman Park. But the ballpark he knew is nothing like it is today.

“Same location, the outfield grass is the same ... That’s about it,” Matt said. “Now you have the turf infield and mound, great seating, netting up all around. When I played, the wooden bleachers were beaten up. The light post by third base was practically on the field.

“I can still picture Rich McKinney back here running the concession stand. Modern or otherwise, this has always been a great place to play ball. I’m glad my kids got to experience it.”

As Butler pitching coach, Matt joined Mavrik in receiving a WPIAL medal. It was Matt’s seventh district medal overall — championship or runner-up — joining two as a basketball player, one as a baseball player and three as Butler basketball coach.

“I’ve won them with my sons and that’s special. I’ve been so fortunate,” he said. “I’ve loved growing up with sports in this town, then watching my kids do the same.

“It’s hard to believe all this has happened.”