Claerhout named national NAIA Player of the Week

Prairie Baseball Academy alum and Bellevue University senior first baseman Carter Claerhout (Red Deer, Alta.) has been named the NAIA National Baseball Player of the Week. Photo: Bellevue University Athletics

March 31, 2026

Official Bellevue University Athletics News Release

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Bellevue University senior first baseman Carter Claerhout (Red Deer, Alta.) has been named the NAIA National Baseball Player of the Week, the national office announced on Tuesday.

This marks the second time this season that a Bellevue Bruin has secured the national weekly honour, as Ayden Makarus (Okotoks, Alta.) previously earned the award on March 3.

Claerhout anchored a dominant Bruin offence that helped the squad, ranked No. 4 in the latest NAIA top 25 poll, to a perfect 5-0 week. Bellevue outscored its opponents, 74-20, over the five games last week. The stretch included a four-game Frontier Conference sweep over Valley City State, extending the Bruins' active winning streak to 15 games.

At the plate, Claerhout was virtually uncontainable. He batted a blistering .700 over the five contests, amassing a 1.550 slugging percentage and a 2.277 OPS. He reached base at a .727 clip, drove in 10 runs, and launched five home runs. Impressively, the senior produced multi-hit performances and homered in every single game of the week.

For the season, Claerhout paces the Bellevue lineup in nearly every major offensive category. He leads the team in batting average (.449), OPS (1.375), slugging percentage (.864), hits (53), doubles (8), home runs (13), total bases (102), and runs scored (40). Furthermore, his .511 on-base percentage is second-best on the roster, while his 34 RBIs and seven stolen bases each rank third.