High School

Baseball's next phenom? Meet Dexter McCleon Jr., the nation's No. 1 uncommitted 2028 high school prospect

Familiar name, different game as son of Super Bowl champion, NFL interceptions leader carves his own path in Georgia as nation's top 2028 baseball prospect

Levi Payton

Young Buford fans have a new young phenom to watch this year in freshman Dexter McCleon Jr.
Young Buford fans have a new young phenom to watch this year in freshman Dexter McCleon Jr. / Photo by Jamie Spaar

Dexter McCleon Jr. has yet to commit to any college. But make no mistake about the five-tool namesake; this Georgia athlete is a “dawg.”

Already a physical specimen at 6-foot-3, 200 pounds as a freshman in high school, McCleon Jr. seemingly possesses everything baseball coaches pray to see, scouts need to see, and baseball fans want to see.

He hits lasers, throws rockets, runs like a deer, and things worthy of a few more metaphors.

The kid can really play. It’s in his DNA.

On the football field, Dexter McCleon was a gifted athlete who became one of the NFL’s best at picking off errant passes.

And the defensive back wasn’t afraid to step up to deliver a big hit. But a lot of folks probably forget the former St. Louis Rams Super Bowl champion was a very good baseball player, as well.

A 13th-round pick by the Minnesota Twins out of high school in 1992, McCleon went on to play football and baseball at Clemson, where the speedy catcher (the most athletic catching prospect of all-time?) batted a respectable .259 over two years on the baseball team.

In 282 at-bats, he finished with seven doubles, five triples and 16 stolen bases before his success as a defensive back on the gridiron led him to become a second-round pick of the St. Louis Rams in 1997.

But this story is about Dexter McCleon Jr., and these days Dexter McCleon is Dexter McCleon Sr., a father, Super Bowl champion and retired 10-year veteran of the Rams, Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans who seems perfectly content watching his son hit pitchers and pick off errant runners back home in Buford, Ga.

Senior isn’t alone in that sentiment. Each week, more and more people are growing eager to get a look at Dexter McCleon Jr., the consensus No. 1 high school baseball prospect in the nation for the 2028 graduating class.

Dexter McCleon: Rams
Jan 30, 2000; Atlanta, GA, USA; FILE PHOTO; St. Louis Rams defensive backs (41 Todd Lyght and (21) Dexter McCleon stop Tennessee Titans receiver (87) Kevin Dyson during Super Bowl XXXIV at the Georgia Dome. The Rams defeated the Titans 23-16. / Tony Tomsic-Imagn Images

He might share his father’s name, but he’s making one for himself.

Still only 15 years old, Dexter Jr.’s numbers, like his game, are off the charts. We’ll get to those in a bit but first, let’s promise to remind ourselves as we go along that we’re talking about a high school freshman here.

But first, here’s a clip from 2021 of the then-11-year-old slugger hitting his 24th home run of the season. He was a Perfect Game 11U Select Festival participant that season and has been picked for that honor every year since.

To understand Dexter McCleon Jr.’s game, and what he brings to the table, one needs to look no further than this year’s season opener for the Buford Wolves.

A freshman batting third in the first game for a very good Georgia high school baseball team isn’t all that common. Then again, prospects like Dexter McCleon Jr. aren’t all that common.

His first at-bat against Parkview might’ve gone how one would expect. He struck out. Strikeouts have been his only real downfall this season, and this might be a good time to remind ourselves again that he’s only 15 years old.

Still, his natural ability won out. The catcher couldn’t squeeze that third strike, the ball scurried away and McCleon Jr. used his blazing 6.57 speed (in the 60-yard dash, according to Perfect Game) to safely reach base anyway.

He saw six pitches in his second plate appearance, worked the count full and drew a leadoff walk. Two pitches later, he swiped second for his first varsity stolen base.

At that point he was 0-for-1 with a strikeout in the scorebook. Yet he was 2-for-2 at finding a way on base with a stolen bag to boot. Call it hidden production.

He popped out in his only other at-bat that day but, as best players do, found yet another way to make an impact.

A two-way star, the left fielder was summoned to the mound for his first varsity pitching appearance in the top of the sixth inning with his team clinging to a 2-1 lead.

It took him six pitches to punch out the first batter he faced. The second batter hit a weak grounder to shortstop, and the third saw a 92-mph fastball and struck out on three pitches.

Still leading 2-1 in the seventh, he walked the leadoff batter (again, he’s only 15), then promptly struck out the next two and got a weak grounder on the infield to preserve the win and pick up his first career save.

Not bad for 15.

His second game, and first hit, came one week later, Feb. 21, setting off a streak in which he’d have at least one hit in 11 of the next 14 games (he also pitched an inning and struck out the side in that game).

In a shortened 16-2 win over Mountain View on Feb. 26, he picked up his first varsity win on the mound, allowing two runs on three hits with six strikeouts in three innings. He helped his own cause at the plate that day, going 2-for-3 with a walk, a double, an RBI and three runs scored.

In a 3-2 win against Walker on March 6, he went 0-for-3 at the plate but also walked and scored a run. Still, he made an impact, pitching four scoreless innings on just three hits while striking out six with no walks to help preserve the victory.

Illusions of Spring Break must’ve had baseballs looking like beach balls throughout mid-March for McCleon Jr., as he went on a tear that began with his first home run in a blowout win against Central Gwinnett on March 11.

He did it all that day, going 2-for-2 with a walk, the home run, three RBI and scored three times. He also pitched two scoreless, hitless innings with three strikeouts and two walks.

When the Wolves played four days later, McCleon Jr. walked, tripled, scored a run, drove in a run and pitched three hitless innings with three strikeouts in a 10-0 win over McEachern. Two days later, he went 2-for-4 with two doubles and four RBI in a 10-0 win over Rabun Gap-Cacoochee.

In five games between March 11-24, McCleon Jr. batted .583 (7-for-12) with four walks, two doubles, a triple, a home run and nine RBI. He also pitched three times and went 1-1, allowing four hits and two earned runs in 7.0 innings with 11 strikeouts and five walks.

Of course, you might remember he’s only 15. There are bound to be ebbs and flows along the way, as evidenced by a recent 2-for-16 skid that dipped his overall average from .341 as recently as April 1, to a solid .281 (16-for-57). He’s drawn 14 walks while clubbing six doubles, one triple, one home run and 16 RBI.

We mentioned he’s a “dawg,” but he’s been a “dawg” since he was a pup.

As a 14-year-old, Prep Baseball clocked the youngster’s greatest exit velocity at 98.5 mph with a hand speed of 23.0 mph. Missouri freshman Keelan Zumwalt is one of the only freshmen with a faster recorded exit velo (99.5).

We mentioned he can run, right? Perfect Game clocked him at 6.57 in the 60, while Prep Baseball got him at 6.62 with a max speed of 21.3 mph. For anyone, let alone a 15-year-old, that’s really scooting.

And good luck catching him on the basepaths. He’s 7-for-7 on stolen-base attempts this year.

Then, of course, there’s his right arm. It’s special, too. Prep Baseball Georgia has had him up to 92 mph off the mound in multiple outings this season, while Perfect Game has reported him up to 94.

Utilizing a four-pitch mix (fastball, curveball, slider, changeup), McCleon Jr. has gone 3-1 with a 1.93 ERA this season. In 28 innings, he’s surrendered 18 hits and six earned runs with 43 strikeouts and 16 walks.

Perfect Game handed him a perfect 10 scouting grade, saying this about the youngster (note: we have edited it only for clarity), “Top of the class tools across (the) board, 6.57 runner in the sixty, 94 mph off the mound, huge (right-handed) power, 4x Select Festival athlete.”

At 20-6 overall, McCleon Jr. and the Wolves will try building on their success again on Saturday when they take on Mount Paran Christian at noon.

In their last game on April 8, McCleon Jr. went 1-for-1 with two walks and scored twice while picking up his third win on the mound, scattering two hits with five strikeouts and no walks.

That “dawg” will hunt.

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Levi Payton
LEVI PAYTON

Levi’s sports journalism career began in 2005. A Missouri native, he’s won multiple Press Association awards for feature writing and has served as a writer and editor covering high school sports as well as working beats in professional baseball, NCAA football, basketball, baseball and soccer. If you have a good story, he’d love to tell it.

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