SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara baseball announced the third member of the 2021 recruiting class, Nolan Lopez.  The left-handed pitcher attended Brophy College Preparatory in Phoenix, Arizona.

"I chose Santa Clara University because I want to be a part of a culture which cultivates excellence on the field, in the classroom, and in the world.  The coaching staff made me feel valued as a player and had a game plan for the continued development of the program.  After visiting Santa Clara, I instantly knew that I wanted to remain a Bronco for four more years," said Lopez whose high school is also nicknamed the Broncos.

During his sophomore campaign in 2019, Lopez made an appearance in eight games, held opponents to a .163 batting average and posted a 1.05 ERA.

While Lopez's junior season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he had a strong showing this past summer pitching for Team Dinger.  The southpaw struck out 38 and allowed just two earned runs over 21 innings while giving up only six hits.

"We are excited to bring in Nolan who is a tall 6-foot-4 left-handed pitcher.  Nolan has really continued to develop over the last couple of months where he had a great summer with Team Dinger," said Broncos head coach Rusty Filter.  "We know he is in great hands at Brophy College Prep under head coach Josh Garcia. With an upper 80's fastball from the left side, we will be very fortunate to be able to use Nolan in multiple roles for the Bronco Boys."

Lopez is a National Hispanic Scholar as well as a National Merit Semifinalist and is the second player from Brophy College Prep to join Santa Clara in as many years, following outfielder Michael Diaz.  Pitcher Freddie Erlandson, who is currently working towards his Master of Arts in educational leadership at SCU, also attended Brophy College Prep.

Our next future Bronco, Quinton Low, will be announced the week of December 7.