Today, Bronco baseball announces the third member of its incoming class of freshman for 2014-15, Jake Brodt. The first baseman currently attends Huntington Beach High School in Huntington Beach, Calif.
"Santa Clara is a great fit for me," Brodt said. "It has everything I am looking for in a university, and I get to play the game I love — baseball."
As a junior and captain in 2013, Brodt hit .400 for Benji Medure's Huntington Beach Oilers to go along with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage. The 6-foot-5, 200-pound prospect was named Second Team All-Sunset League.
"Every time we talked to a coach about Jake they would use the word, 'clutch'," assistant coach/recruiting coordinator Gabe Ribas said. "We could tell that Jake is a very good athlete with a special skill set, but when you added that feel for getting the big hit when the lights are on, we knew Jake would be a great Bronco. Jake is a guy who clearly makes his teammates better, and anyone who is a team captain as a junior is demonstrating great leadership skills, which we believe will help him do great things at Santa Clara."
The Oilers upset Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) in the first round of the 2013 CIF Southern Section Baseball Championships. Entering the game, the Monarchs were the nation's top-ranked team, according to the MaxPreps Computer Rankings.
Brodt plans to study communications and economics at Santa Clara, and said his career goals include owning a restaurant. Outside of baseball, he has volunteered for a youth nonprofit sports organization for the past four years. His hobbies and interests include surfing, snowboarding, listening to music and cooking.
Brodt's mother, Christy, was a pitcher at Indiana University and his father, Dave, played baseball at Cypress Junior College in Cypress, Calif., just west of Anaheim.
Next week's new Bronco is shortstop Austin Fisher.