Father-son duo hits home run with new investment property at Possum Kingdom
Story by Steve Nussbaum
Photos by Erika Carter and Ronnie Langford
Mike and Clayton Beeter built this Gaines Bend luxury rental
with a long-term plan in mind.
Mike and Clayton Beeter are making a significant investment in their combined futures at Possum Kingdom.
What makes this father-and-son duo’s approach unique, however, is the way they’ve decided to pool their talents not only to benefit financially, but also to enjoy the great lifestyle PK has to offer.
It’s not just real estate fueling their efforts, either; it’s also Clayton Beeter’s potential to be a major league pitcher for the New York Yankees. Their journey has taken them across the country with the potential for Clayton Beeter to join the Yankees’ pitching rotation, but both men are also focused on building a real estate and construction business at Possum Kingdom.
Clayton Beeter showed promise on the baseball diamond at an early age. At age 10 he had already reached a point where his dad needed to decide what the future might hold for his son in the sport. There were lots of opportunities to choose from, but Mike Beeter believed that some of the club teams weren’t the right fit.
With that in mind, Mike Beeter founded the North Texas Baseball Club (Dirtbags), based out of Keller, Texas. The club hired Pat Woods, who eventually became the youngster’s mentor. The club continues to operate in Keller with a 501c3 designation with an emphasis on helping to place HS graduates into college baseball programs.
At age 12, Clayton Beeter was the 15th player that Woods saw as having the potential to play professional baseball. He currently is a pitcher for the Yankees’ Triple-A squad, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders in Pennsylvania, where he’s had a good year as a starting right-hander. This past season, Clayton Beeter pitched 131 innings with 165 strikeouts, posting a 3.62 earned-run average in the process.
Those are impressive numbers at such a high level of competition, so it’s no wonder the Yankees organization traded Joey Gallo for Clayton Beeter in August of 2022. Clayton is hoping to be added to the Yankees 40-man roster by November 15th of 2023.
Making the 40-man roster is critical for any player in the minor leagues, and not only because of the competition against the very best in the sport. It’s also at this point that players begin to reap the financial rewards from their years of hard work.
Clayton Beeter hasn’t always been a pitcher, though. He was a successful shortstop at Birdville High School in North Richland Hills before becoming a pitcher in his junior year. His high school coach, who previously had played for Texas Tech baseball coach Tim Tadlock, is the person responsible for connecting the two.
Clayton Beeter joined the Texas Tech squad as a walk-on in 2017 (because of having an academic scholarship), where he threw 96- mph fastballs in the fall of 2017 before suffering an injury to the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching arm that required Tommy John surgery to repair the damage. Clayton missed the 2018 college season as the recovery time from the procedure was 14 months.
The following year, Clayton Beeter became the main closer for the Red Raiders, notching eight saves, and in 2020 he was named one of the starters in Texas Tech’s pitching rotation. He posted a 4-0 record on a squad that was ranked No. 1 in the country before the COVID-19 pandemic cut the season short.
Pictured above: Clayton Beeter is expected to sign with The New York Yankees 40-man roster after a successful 2023 season.
Being his junior year, it also was a critical year for Clayton Beeter to be drafted. Despite having a shortened season and body of work to his credit, he was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the second round of the 2020 major league draft and was the 66th player chosen overall before being traded to the Yankees in 2022.
Clayton Beeter also happened to be the valedictorian of his class at Birdville High School, but his dad likes to jokingly add that his son “may be the only HS valedictorian not to graduate college.†What the elder Beeter didn’t mention, though, is that being drafted early in the 2020 Major League Baseball draft led to his son’s early exit from college.
After studying engineering at Texas Tech, Clayton Beeter became interested in real estate during his first minor league season, and that’s when father and son decided to combine their talents.
Pictured above: Clayton Beeter was the 66th pick chosen in the 2020 MLB draft. In 2023, while pitching for the Yankees Triple-A squad, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders he pitched 131 innings with 165 strikeouts while having an impressive 3.62 ERA.
Pictured left: From PK to the New York Yankees, all roads lead back to West Texas for Mike and Clayton Beeter. Pictured right: Clayton Beeter and Erin Burk will be getting married in December 2023.
Mike Beeter earned a degree from Texas Tech in constructional engineering in 1994 and owned his own construction company in the DFW Metroplex for 17 years. It was in 2020, when he bought a beautiful cliffline lot in the Reserve section of Gaines Bend. Initially Mike Beeter was planning to build his own forever home, but the father and son duo changed course and decided to invest in Possum Kingdom. It was a place the two had traveled to many times when Clayton Beeter was a young boy, and both loved Possum Kingdom.
“He loves West Texas, and it’s where he wants to be,†Clayton Beeter said. Mike Beeter moved to PK in July 2022, and that’s when the two of them began construction on their first project.
Mike Beeter began overseeing construction of their incredible lake property in June 2022. Partnering with Timberlyne and FWN&A (structural engineer) the process of designing the home began in the fall of 2020. The Timber Frame was then ordered in January of 2022 (as there was an 8-month lead time) with the foundation work beginning in June of 2022. The plan was for Mike to oversee construction, while his son would handle most of the interior finishes/decorating and technical aspects of running a full-time luxury rental. The pier-and-beam construction and gorgeous timbers on the property added challenges to the project, but it has turned out to be a great first effort for both, and their attention to detail to make it a great rental shows throughout the home.
Clayton Beeter, his fiancé Erin Burk and sister Jaclyn Beeter all helped in the design of their investment property.
The first thing that stands out upon entering the dwelling are the Douglas fir timbers throughout it. Mike Beeter grew up in Montana, and this is a style feature that he always liked. The space has a very modern look and can be described as “transitional modern farmhouse,†with an open floor plan and towering ceilings.
While Mike Beeter was busy overseeing construction, Clayton Beeter and his fiancée, Erin Burk, worked on the interior design. Clayton Beeter admitted that he’s not necessarily a designer, but he added that he spent hours on Instagram looking at what was popular for vacation rentals, and the results speak for themselves. It’s a beautiful and modern rustic space with breathtaking views, and the furnishings are designed for comfort.
Jaclyn Beeter, Mike Beeter’s daughter, also helped with the décor. Jaclyn graduated UT Austin in December of 2022 and is now enrolled at Texas Tech becoming a Doctor of Physical Therapy.
The views also are spectacular, looking back toward the south end of the lake and the sunsets behind the house, so it’s comfortable in the evenings.
The main house has a luxury master and stunning master bath, and a modern metal-and floating-wood staircase case that leads to a loft on the second level. The second building doubles as a huge garage, game room and bunkroom, which opens to a pool set along the cliffline and is the perfect spot to end the day and enjoy the incredible views.
The home has five bedrooms and has room for 14 people to sleep in beds.
The Reserve at Gaines Bend is the first project by the family but won’t be the last. Clayton, Erin, and Jaclyn will continue to assist in interior design and decor as they all pursue their own careers. The goal is to create a legacy portfolio of unique rental properties. In the meantime, Mike Beeter has moved to PK full time and is already working on his second property on the peninsula. With the help of local real estate agent Linda Fewell, he was able to buy his second project, and he’s still deciding if he plans to sell the property when he is done with remodeling or make it a short-term rental also. He’s also expanding his construction company at PK (CJM Builders, LLC) focusing on new construction, additions, and remodeling projects.
The future looks bright for this father-and-son duo as they look to expand their business ventures at Possum Kingdom, while Clayton Beeter chases his dream of playing baseball in the major leagues. If their first project is any indication of future endeavors, these guys will hit it out of the park.
For more information on their project:
Mike Beeter (817) 913-9386
