BAY CITY - The decision came down to playing in the Sunshine State or staying near home in Michigan for Brody Krzysiak.

“I had a chance to play in the south at Daytona State or close to home,” the 70th-rated 2023 in Michigan related. “In looking at me and how I am as a person, I think it’s better to stay home rather than being by myself in Florida.”

Thus, the Bay City John Glenn incoming senior decided on making a commitment to Oakland.

“Tanner Sonntag on my high school team is going there and they came to watch him at a regional game,” Krzysiak explained about getting interest from Oakland. “Coach (Jordan) Banfield was at the game and I pitched really well. After that he wanted me to come on a visit. The game was on a Wednesday and I visited on Monday.

“When I was there I liked everything I saw with the coaches and their philosophies. They offered and I couldn’t refuse.”

The eighth-ranked catcher in the state made an impression on the Oakland head coach and his staff on the mound.

“They had heard about me before and had seen me pitch a year prior but I didn’t have the physicality,” Krzysiak noted. “This year I’m more physical and have a better breaking ball. My curve is what I’m known for.”

The weight room played a big part of his improvement as a pitcher.

“I always had the skill, but I didn’t have the numbers to back it up,” the 6-1 170-pounder pointed out. “But I went from topping at 84 last year to this year topping at 88-89, 90 on a good day.”

In fact, Krzysiak related that 91 has been hit more than once, just one of the things he sees helping the cause in making an impact at the Horizon League school.

“They like the fact I know how to compete on the mound,” Krzysiak said. “I go out there and go right at them. I’m not intimidated by anyone.”

The potential of playing college baseball only became a recent development.

“It became more of a reality around last year or the year before,” Krzysiak noted about taking his game to the next level. “It was then, when I started seeing how I was progressing going from 80 to the mid-80s to the high-80s, that I started to think I can make something out of this.”

The recruiting process found Krzysiak getting interest from schools like Eastern Michigan, Navy and Air Force in addition to Daytona State, where Krzysiak visited over Christmas break, and then Oakland.

“I went to a couple PBR showcases and I’m not sure if they discovered me there, but this year I got more attention in my recruitment,” noted the 17-year-old, who played in the PBR Junior Future Games for three years at the ages of 12-14. “Oakland was up front about it. They would text asking how my games were going. They seemed more genuinely interested.”

Business, math and science are potential majors for Krzysiak, a 4.17 student who gave credit to others in helping along the way.

“My parents, especially my dad, taught me everything I know about the game,” Krzysiak said. “Also my trainers, my coaches and my teammates were a big help supporting me.”

Krzysiak found a lot to like about Oakland in making the university located a little more than an hour from home his college choice.

“In talking to coach Banfield, they genuinely want to improve as a program and as a team,” Krzysiak related. “They have a nice indoor dome to work out in during the winter and I like that. In the past they haven’t been a winning school, but what they showed me and talked about to me was big.”

It helped make the decision to stay near home easier.

“When I committed it took a lot of stress off in not worrying about where I’m going to play,” Krzysiak concluded. “Now it’s about improving my consistency so when I show up I can play to the best of my ability.

“One thing I’m really looking forward to is getting used to that team atmosphere,” Krzysiak added. “That bonding at college and competing to win will be a lot of fun.”