Bowen Excited To Have Opportunity To Play With Brother At Akron

Brady Bowen RHP / SS / Wooster, OH / 2025

WOOSTER - Brady Bowen admitted being stressed out about his recruiting process when his coach gave him reassurance.

“He said it would happen fast,” related the Wooster High School incoming senior.

That proved to be the case when the 34th-rated 2025 right-handed pitcher in Ohio was offered by Akron and asked to come on a visit.

“I fell in love with the campus and the coaches,” reflected Bowen, who committed the following day. “It felt like home with the young coaches there. I think we can do something special.”

There is more that made Bowen feel Akron was right.

“The opportunity to play close to home and the opportunity to play with my brother,” Bowen pointed to as key factors in the decision to make the Mid-American Conference university his school of choice over Findlay and other schools that showed an interest.

His brother Blake, who has transferred to Akron from Kentucky, will have four years of eligibility remaining.

“He has coached me since I was younger,” Bowen explained. “He pushes me and doesn’t stop. He’s always been hard on me. He knows I can be better.”

Improvement is something that has proven beneficial for Bowen in a baseball journey that will continue 45 minutes from home once high school is over.

“I’ve gotten stronger, my velo has gone up and the ball is moving a lot more,” Bowen noted. “I have a better slider, change and curve. My spin rate is so high, if I can get more strength I can get my velo up in the high-80s and 90s at the next level and really make an impact.”

Akron already sees a lot to admire in the 6-0 160-pounder.

“They like how I can throw strikes and command the zone with all my pitches,” the 89th-ranked 2025 in the state said. “I get outs, not just throw hard, I actually pitch.”

A college commitment to Akron has Bowen excited about attaining a long-time goal.

“Since I was a kid the dream has been to go D-I,” Bowen said. “Then I started loving basketball and thought maybe I could play that in college. It all changed freshman year of high school. I wasn’t expected to be a pitcher, I was just a normal pitcher, but the coach gave me an opportunity and after that I started thinking I want to just be a pitcher.

“One of the pitchers on the team got injured and coach threw me in and I did well. Now I just love pitching. I like controlling the game, going at my speed, controlling the batter and competing. Controlling the game is my favorite thing.”

In addition to his brother, Bowen pointed to a lot of assistance in getting to where he is now.

“God and all my coaches,” Bowen said in listing off those he wanted to credit. “My dad has always been there throwing to us and just being around baseball.

“The Top Prospect Games also helped me,” Bowen continued. “I went to a couple showcases when I was younger but wasn’t fully developed but the Top Prospect Games really helped.”

Admittedly, recruitment was not easy.

“I knew after seeing Blake in his recruiting process what to expect and that I had to get my name out there,” Bowen said. “The stressful part was worrying if you’re even going to get an offer or if schools are seeing you. It was such a relief to find Akron and know I’ll be close to home the next four years. The opportunity to play with Blake, like we did in high school, that’s the exciting part.”

A 3.86 student at Wooster who is leaning toward a major in education with sport management also a consideration, was with his mom in Nashville on the way home from a game when the commitment became official.

“Wow it happened,” Bowen reflected about the moment. “I always had a D-I dream, and to have it happen was just crazy to think about. Only about one percent get to play college sports and I’m grateful to be one of them.”

It has the 17-year-old excited about his future at Akron.

“I want to do whatever I can to help the team win a MAC championship,” Bowen concluded. “It would be great to play professional baseball, that’s always the dream and it can happen, but if not I’ll get an education, become a teacher and when I get older start a family.”