Last year, Tennessee reliever Ben Joyce was the talk of college baseball, and for good reason. The flamethrower hit 105 mph and became the unofficial hardest-throwing pitcher in NCAA history.
This year, we may have a new contender for that title. Iowa's Brody Brecht has the same arm talent, but he might be even more athletic. That's because while he's a starter on the baseball team who throws 104 mph (yes, really), he also played wide receiver for the Hawkeyes the last two seasons.
Maybe that lowly Iowa offense should think about making him their quarterback.
Brody Brecht: Iowa's Dual-Sport Flamethrower
?104 MPH?@B1Gbaseball fans, @UIBaseball's @brody_brecht can throw some ????. ? pic.twitter.com/53S0gvMsFv
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) March 31, 2023
RELATED: Ben Joyce's 104 MPH Fastball Might Be the Fastest in NCAA History
Brecht was already a name to watch this season. He was consistently living in the upper-90s with his fastball, touching 100 mph and then some on occasion. Then, he touched 104 mph in a game against Maryland. The pitch practically broke college baseball Twitter.
Brecht has been an unstoppable force on the mound this season for the Hawkeyes. In that same start against Maryland on March 31, he struck out 13 Terrapins over five innings. He's whiffed a ridiculous 59 hitters over 33.2 innings, close to two strikeouts every inning.
Brody Brecht?s (@UIBaseball) ?23 debut exceeded expectations. 5 perfect innings with 10 K?s. FB hit 100 and as you can see below the slider can be devastating. Showed improved control. You have to remember he?s doing all of this with no fall practice due to his football season. pic.twitter.com/AP5eAwG39v
— Nick Johnson (@nicholasmilo) February 18, 2023
And it's not just a heater that Brecht possesses. He's got a hammer for a curveball, and he throws out more than he throws his fastball.
The best pitch in college baseball: Brody Brecht?s hammer from hell. An 87-91 mph power-slurve that he throws 59% of the time. pic.twitter.com/lrZDTQbBI4
— ? (@mason_mcrae) March 13, 2023
Brecht might be a familiar name to Iowa's football fans. After redshirting the 2021-22 season, the 6-foot-4 sophomore played wide receiver for the Hawkeyes this past season. Sure, he had just nine catches for 87 total yards, but that was on one of the worst offenses among Power 5 schools. Plus, 38 of those yards came against Michigan.
Photo by Keith Gillett/IconSportswire/Getty Images
However, on March 24, Brecht announced plans to quit football and focus solely on baseball. That makes a whole lot of sense considering he can throw a baseball 104 mph.
"Football is my first love," he wrote on Twitter. "But in the past few years, baseball has become my true passion. With that said, I have decided to step away from football to focus full-time on my college baseball career. I want to be great at baseball and hope to play Major League Baseball in the future."
God?s Plan? pic.twitter.com/i7VMzYZXUt
— Brody Brecht (@brody_brecht) March 25, 2023
I mean, you can't blame the kid. Brecht has the opportunity to make a whole lot of money when he's eligible for the MLB Draft in 2024. D1 Baseball ranks him the 17th-best college prospect in the 2024 MLB Draft. Considering he could make millions of dollars, I'd say he made the right choice.
Either way, Brody Brecht is a freak. He may not be the biggest star in Iowa athletics currently — Caitlin Clark has something to say about that — but he's only going up from here.
