The Pirates selected Clyburn, a right-handed outfielder, with the 47th overall pick in the 1992 draft, a pick the team had received as compensation from the Mets in exchange for the loss of Bobby Bonilla as a free agent. They traded him to the Reds on October 13, 1994, in exchange for Jacob Brumfield. The cousin of major league pitcher Pep Harris, Clyburn was an International League All-Star in 1997, and he spent parts of three seasons in the major leagues with the Orioles and Devil Rays. He played his last professional season in 2004, as a member of the Atlantic League's Newark Bears. At the time of Clyburn's death, he was only 37 years old.