World’s No. 1 junior clay target shooter commits to Georgia Southern

April 22, 2025

Connor Daniel, the No. 1 ranked junior (age 21 or under) FITASC Sporting Clay shooter in the world, has committed to attend Georgia Southern University, where he will pursue a degree in Manufacturing Engineering and join the four-time ACUI Divisional National Champion Southern Clay Target Team in Fall 2025. 

Daniel, a Richmond Hill, Georgia, native, specializes in English Sporting Clays and FITASC Sporting, the international shooting game commonly referred to as the most difficult clay target game in the world. He has been shooting clay targets since the age of 13 and has climbed to the top of the junior shooter rankings in America and internationally. 

“To say that all of Georgia Southern’s Eagle Nation is excited to have Connor Daniel as an Eagle would be an understatement,” said Southern Clay Target Team Head Coach Marty Fischer. “He has a burning desire to be the best of the best at whatever he does, and he puts forth the effort to improve every day. Most of the Southern Clay Target Team members have competed against Connor in high school. They know him as a fierce competitor and friend. Now, they proudly get to call him a teammate.”

Daniel is a two-time National Sporting Clays Association (NSCA) Sub-Junior National Champion, a three-time NSCA All-American Sub-Junior Captain and a three-time NSCA Championship Tour Sub-Junior Champion. He is also the 2021 NSCA U.S. Open Sub-Junior Champion and the 2022 World English Sporting Clays Sub-Junior Champion.

Daniel’s additional achievements include being the No. 1 ranked Junior FITASC competitor in the world based on performance points in international competition. Even though he is still a junior, he was recently named to the 2025 NSCA All-American Open (all ages) 1st Team for English Sporting Clays. He is a three-time member of the English Sporting and FITASC Sporting USA Championship Teams. 

As a junior, he also competes against all shooters in all classes at every competitive event. In 2023, he was the NSCA Southeast Regional FITASC High Overall Champion. He followed that up again in 2024 as the NSCA U.S. Open FITASC High Overall Champion, among other titles. 

“When I first stepped foot on campus, I knew that I wanted to call Georgia Southern University home,” said Daniel. “It’s an honor to join a program that has an amazing history of winning!  The team has a lot of talented clay shooters with winning attitudes, and I believe that if we work really hard, together, we will have what it takes to win a Division 1 National Championship. I am really proud to be an Eagle.”

In July, Daniel will travel to England and Cyprus where he will represent the U.S. on the NSCA Junior Team, competing in both the 2025 World English Sporting Clays Championship and the 2025 World FITASC Championship. In Cyprus, he will serve as team captain.

While traveling around the nation competing professionally, Daniel remains busy representing his high school, Savannah Christian Preparatory School, where he finished his high school shooting career by winning the Georgia Independent Athletic Association (GIAA) Georgia State Clay Target Championship in November. At that event, Connor shot 96/100 in American Trap, 100/100 in American Skeet and 99/100 Sporting Clays targets for a total of 295/300, setting a GIAA record. 

Two signing day events are scheduled to commemorate Daniel’s commitment to Georgia Southern prior to his high school graduation in May. The first will be held on April 25 at 12:15 p.m. at Savannah Christian Preparatory School. The second will be held on April 29 at 3:30 p.m. at the Shooting Sports Education Center on Georgia Southern’s Statesboro Campus. 

During the signing on April 29, Fischer said the Southern Clay Target Team will officially announce its move to Division 1 in the ACUI Collegiate Clay Target Championship. 

“After winning Divisions 4, 3, and two Division 2 Championships with 10 to 20 shooters, this team has earned the right to compete at the Division 1 level where teams enter upwards of 50 shooters,” Fischer said. “We may be smaller in number, but we have the talent it takes to win and we’re very excited about the future.”