Showcases Help Fuel Brown's Baseball Journey To West Virginia

Jacob Brown 2B / RHP / Greenhills, MI / 2023

ANN ARBOR - It was a year ago during eighth grade when the recruiting process began for Jacob Brown.

“I realized what I wanted to do and took it into my own hands,” Brown said of his aspirations to play baseball at the next level. “But I didn’t start getting seen until showcases.”

Brown gained more than exposure at events such as the Michigan Future 50 and the Fall Future Game Trials.

“I’d always wanted to play baseball professionally but I knew I needed a backup plan through college,” Brown explained. “That’s something I never knew if I could do, but it became realistic when I started going to showcases. I started to realize I was getting some of the top numbers at the showcases and coaches were coming up to talk to me.

“That really motivated me to work out even more and to go to more showcases. I learned so much through things like PBR. It helped me get better.”

When the time came to attend college camps, the ninth-ranked 2023 in the state was noticed.

“I started talking to West Virginia at one of their camps around six months ago,” the freshman at Greenhills High School related. “I really liked the program and the coaches there. About two months ago I took an unofficial visit and loved the facilities. It was then they offered me as a two-way.”

That is something the 6-2 175-pounder, who was also receiving interest from a number of other schools such as Xavier, felt strongly about.

“I wanted to go as a two-way but no other college gave me that option,” Brown noted.

Combined with admiration for the coaching staff and school, Brown accepted the offer and committed to the Big 12 Conference school which has been to the NCAA Tournament two of the last three years after a 20-year drought.