Senior Nathan Brasher Commits to Brown to Play Baseball

Photo courtesy of Nathan Brasher

Senior Nathan Brasher poses in his backyard with his Brown University shirt after deciding to commit to the college to play baseball. He and seven other players across the country were offered a chance to play for the ivy league school. “I’m committed as an outfielder for centerfield, and we also have a corner outfielder, a catcher, a short stop, and three pitchers as well,” Brasher said.

Miles Huerta, Staff Reporter
Dec 2, 2020

Not everyone gets to go to college for something they love to do, but senior Nathan Brasher is able to do just that since committing to Brown University. He and seven other talented recruits from across the country were offered the chance to play baseball for the Brown Bears. 

Nathan Brasher stands with some of his BPA Club teammates after winning the 2020 Wilson Premier Classic in Emerson, Georgia. BPA was one of the 33 other teams from across the country that competed in the four-day tournament. Events like this helped Brasher get noticed, something his friend Connor Blough recognizes. “…[Nathan’s] always playing,” Blough said. “He’s incredibly dedicated to his sport and spends most of his time playing games or practicing all over the country.” (Photo courtesy of Nathan Brasher)
It must be noted that getting into Brown is no easy task. The prestigious ivy league university has an intimidating eight percent acceptance rate. Luckily, Brasher’s proficiency in baseball got him noticed by a Brown University scout.

Brasher was playing at a big tournament with his team when Brown first reached out. 

“Brown University was attending and watched our team play, and [the recruiting officer] came into contact with our coach because I was a standout on our team, so then our coach gave me their information and we started to get in touch,” Brasher said.

Nathan Brasher stands for a photo with a statue of the Brown University mascot, the Bear while visiting their campus in Rhode Island. Players were recruited from across the country to play for the prestigious school. “I luckily got to meet one of my teammates [and] he lives in Washington,” Brasher said. “At another tournament, I got to see one of my teammates who’s from Georgia, [but] we [also] have one [player] from Texas, Florida, and a couple from California besides [myself].” (Photo courtesy of Nathan Brasher)
A few months later, he visited the university in Province, Rhode Island, all the way across the country. Having grown up and lived his whole life in California, Rhode Island was a new change of pace for him.

“When I went there it was pretty cold, I will say. It’s a little different temperature, but I think at this point in my life, I’m ready for a change, I guess to explore a little bit and see what there is out in the world,” Brasher said.

While he was there, he had the opportunity to explore the campus, meet some students, and even sit in on some of the classes. He also had the opportunity to meet the coaches and check out the facilities there. A few months later, he decided that Brown was the place for him and committed to the university.

However, getting to this point was no easy task for him. Aside from taking a rigorous course schedule since freshman year, Brasher has kept up a diligent training schedule.

“During the summertime, I practice probably four times a week at least, and then me and my dad and sometimes my brother also do weight training, ” Brasher said.

It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to stand out to big universities like Brown. Senior Connor Blough can attest to Brasher’s efforts, as he’s been friends with him since freshman year.

“Every single summer, Nate has left for tournaments in Texas, Georgia, Florida, Vegas, and literally everywhere around the country,” Blough said. “Last year, I’m pretty sure he was out of the state for the whole first month of summer so he’d always miss out on anything going on in Cali.”

In the end, it’s all paid off for Brasher, who now has the opportunity to attend Brown University and play on their baseball team. Although he’s had to take four years of rigorous courses and stay completely dedicated to baseball, now that he’s committed, he doesn’t regret anything.

“I think it was absolutely worth it,” Brasher said.