Former Iowa football WR Brody Brecht dreams big on the diamond: “I just want to be great” IOWA CITY – True to form, Brody Brecht was at Kinnick Stadium on game day.
On September 2, 2023, the new Iowa football season began as the Hawkeyes took on Utah State.
Brecht found himself in a familiar environment, but he experienced it from an unfamiliar perspective.
Brecht did not play in any games and was no longer on the Iowa State football team.
He watched the game as a fan in the stands behind the defensive backs bench on the Iowa sideline, Brecht, a member of the Hawkeye baseball team, said Tuesday.
“Somehow I’m looking at it again from a different perspective, not as a player but as a fan.
There were definitely ups and downs that day.
But I wanted to be there for my sons and support them.
And they won, which was great.
” Added on the right: “When they ran out of the tunnel, hey, I got the same goosebumps and butterfly feeling that I had when they started running.
” This is an adaptation of Brecht’s new work
After he spent two seasons with the Iowa State football program, Brecht announced that he would commit to baseball full-time in March 2023.
That decision was proven right moments later when the flamethrower threw a fastball that exceeded 100 miles per hour.
This sets the stage for this season, with Brecht expected to be selected in the first round of the 2024 MLB Draft and be part of an Iowa team with a chance to make a big leap forward.
But Brecht’s decision to end his football career touched the former wide receiver, especially on the day of his 2023 season opener at Iowa.
“Soccer is my first love, my greatest love, and probably always will be,” Brecht said.
“But I felt that in order to get where I wanted to go in life and establish myself for the future, it was best to focus on baseball.
” There was a certain inevitability to this decision.
With the exception of a few rare cases like Deion Sanders and Bo Jackson, playing professional baseball or football at the highest level is nearly impossible.
But for most of his life Brecht did not have to choose between the two.
Always playing both sports, he starred at Ankeny High School and was an all-state athlete on the diamond and grid.
Early in his high school career, Brecht was handed over to head coach Rick Heller by Iowa State baseball assistant head coach Marty Sutherland.
However, not in the way that is currently clear.
“It’s funny, the first time our recruiting coordinator Marty Sutherland talked to me about him (Brody).
was as a hitter,” Heller said Tuesday during the Hawkeyes’ preseason.
Speaking during media day.
Iowa Baseball enthusiastically recruited Brecht.
But there was a catch.
“We knew from an early age that Brody’s first love was football, and he never shut us up about it,” Heller said.
“He always told us he wanted to play football.
He wanted to play baseball.
He wanted to play both.
Brecht was allowed to do both activities in Iowa.
However, it was possible that Brecht would begin a professional baseball career immediately after graduating from high school.
However, Brecht distanced himself from this idea due to his emotional ties to Iowa.
“It’s been a lifelong dream of mine to play soccer at Kinnick Stadium,” Brecht said.
Brecht did so, but not without hurdles.
He was sidelined from football as a freshman with a thumb injury that ultimately led to a redshirt season.
He then appeared in 17 games on the pitcher’s mound in his first season with Iowa Baseball.
Brecht struggled again in his second year with Iowa football, but had nine catches for 87 yards.
“It was definitely tough,” Brecht said of his balance between the two sports.
“But I had two great coaches, Coach (Kirk) Ferentz and Coach Heller.
They were both very supportive.
They wanted me to be successful in whatever I was doing.
It was tough.
But the coaches were there for me.
Communication was key, time management was key.
” But Brecht, although perhaps sooner than he had hoped, The fate of having to choose between two sports finally came.
During his second season on the Iowa State diamond, Brecht announced his plans to focus on baseball full-time.
In his post, he said that soccer was his “first love,” but baseball became his “true passion.
” “If it weren’t for the injury, he probably would still be playing soccer,” Brecht said.
“But that’s life.
” He added: “I love the competition.
And every pitch you get into, you vs.
you.
I love that aspect of this game.
And I want to be great in everything I do.
I think we have a great opportunity here in baseball.
I felt like if I hadn’t focused on baseball, I might have sold myself short.
” Brecht, , is expected to be Iowa’s ace after a 5-2 season with a 3.
74 ERA.
He took full advantage of the offseason, which benefited him physically while also giving him a chance to work on command and the mental side of his game.
Brecht has what Iowa pitching coach Sean McGrath describes as a “100 mph arm with one of the best sliders in the world.
” The previously divided paths of progress became pure baseball for Brecht.
Now the question arises: What do you want to do with it?
“As long as God leads me, man,” Brecht said.
“I’ll work on my job.
I want to.
.
but I don’t know how to explain it.
I just want to play, dude.
I just want to be great.
I’ve said it before: I want to be great at everything I do.
This is baseball.
That’s why I want to be the best.
I want to go out and play.
I hope this year will be another great year.
I want to play in MLB.
That’s always my goal, that’s to play professionally.
At first I thought it might be because of the NFL, but now my plans may have changed a little bit, but I just want to play as long as possible.
” McGrath has a more quantitative answer to this question.
“As Michael Jordan said, ‘The ceiling is the roof.
He was sidelined from football as a freshman with a thumb injury that ultimately led to a redshirt season.
He then appeared in 17 games on the pitcher’s mound in his first season with Iowa Baseball.
Brecht struggled again in his second year with Iowa football, but had nine catches for 87 yards.
“It was definitely tough,” Brecht said of his balance between the two sports.
“But I had two great coaches, Coach (Kirk) Ferentz and Coach Heller.
They were both very supportive.
They wanted me to be successful in whatever I was doing.
It was tough.
But the coaches were there for me.
Communication was key, time management was key.
” But Brecht, although perhaps sooner than he had hoped, The fate of having to choose between two sports finally came.
During his second season on the Iowa State diamond, Brecht announced his plans to focus on baseball full-time.
In his post, he said that soccer was his “first love,” but baseball became his “true passion.
” “If it weren’t for the injury, he probably would still be playing soccer,” Brecht said.
“But that’s life.
” He added: “I love the competition.
And every pitch you get into, you vs.
you.
I love that aspect of this game.
And I want to be great in everything I do.
I think we have a great opportunity here in baseball.
I felt like if I hadn’t focused on baseball, I might have sold myself short.
” Brecht, , is expected to be Iowa’s ace after a 5-2 season with a 3.
74 ERA.
He took full advantage of the offseason, which benefited him physically while also giving him a chance to work on command and the mental side of his game.
Brecht has what Iowa pitching coach Sean McGrath describes as a “100 mph arm with one of the best sliders in the world.
” The previously divided paths of progress became pure baseball for Brecht.
Now the question arises: What do you want to do with it?
“As long as God leads me, man,” Brecht said.
“I’ll work on my job.
I want to.
.
but I don’t know how to explain it.
I just want to play, dude.
I just want to be great.
I’ve said it before: I want to be great at everything I do.
This is baseball.
That’s why I want to be the best.
I want to go out and play.
I hope this year will be another great year.
I want to play in MLB.
That’s always my goal, that’s to play professionally.
At first I thought it might be because of the NFL, but now my plans may have changed a little bit, but I just want to play as long as possible.
” McGrath has a more quantitative answer to this question.
“As Michael Jordan said, ‘The ceiling is the roof.
‘ I think he has a really bright future,” McGrath said.
“If you look 20 years from now, let’s say he spent 15 years in the big leagues and was named an All-Star several times, several times, I don’t give him any credit.
But in life, you can do whatever you want.
”
