Schneider Finds A Lot To Like About Kent State

Braylon Schneider RHP / 3B / Fremont Ross, OH / 2025

GREEN SPRINGS - Braylon Schneider took four college visits and - from the coaches, to the baseball programs to the campuses - loved each of them.

“They all were great,” the Fremont Ross High School junior related.

But when it came time to make a choice Schneider decided on Kent State over the trio of Wright State, Michigan State and Toledo.

“I loved everything there,” explained the eighth-rated 2025 right-handed pitcher in Ohio, who went to Kent on Sept. 2 after hearing from a coach with the Mid-American Conference on Aug. 1. “It’s a beautiful campus and I love the coaches.”

There is more that made Kent State right for Schneider, who credited his travel coach with Demand Command, Josh Bradford, as well as the Future Games with helping “get eyes on me” from Kent State pitching coach Mike Birkbeck.

“Their consistency of reaching out lured me in more,” Schneider explained about Kent State. “That building of a relationship with player and coach. We got to know each other on a personal level.”

Kent found a lot to like about the 6-2 190-pounder, who had a three-up, three-down inning with a pair of strikeouts, hitting 91 on the radar gun at the Future Games.

“They liked my changeup,” Schneider related. “They said it was quite an outlier to them. They also mentioned my curve and command.”

It was just a few years back when college baseball became a possibility for Schneider.

“It was in 13-14U that it kinda clicked for me and that I wanted to do this,” the 17-year-old reflected. “I started to take to training and decided I wanted to do this for four years after high school.”

A knee injury forced Schneider to miss his 15U season, but the college baseball dream soon became realistic once healed.

“I was seeing coaches more and more at my games this year,” noted Schneider, whose pitching made big strides after getting hurt. “Before the injury I was a fastball guy. But once I was on my feet and, putting things together, I saw I had almost abused the fastball. I made some mechanical changes, put on some weight and made a number of improvements. More strength was a very high focus.”

From 81-83 velocity before surgery, Schneider initially hit 90 at this time a year ago. The 27th-ranked junior in the state is now in the low-90s, topping at 93. Those kinds of numbers proved beneficial during the recruiting process.

“It went well, but was very stressful,” Schneider related. “This was a huge decision in my life. PBR did so much for me. Going to the Junior Future Games and then to the Future Games itself, the advertising was awesome through them. They did a great job.”

Now Schneider is ready to do the same at Kent State.

“I’ll bring them great determination,” Schneider noted. “I love pushing people. There’s an atmosphere of grit already there. I’ll push other people to work harder while bringing a great personality to the program.”

Schneider pointed to a friend, Hondo Melchor, along with Jake Wilson as key people in his development and recruitment as well as trainers Kyle Harris and Craig Stem at TreadAthletics. All were vital in becoming a commit to the Mid-American Conference university an hour and 45 minutes from home.

“The feeling was awesome,” Schneider said of making a commitment. “The feeling of stress went away. They know what they’re talking about so I know I’m in great hands. It was just a phenomenal feeling.”

A 3.6 student at Fremont Ross with aspirations to major in kinesiology, Schneider has big expectations when it comes to going to college at Kent State.

“I’m looking forward to learning a lot through the coaches,” Schneider concluded. “There’s a lot to learn and I believe they hold that knowledge.

“I’m also ready to live life as a student-athlete,” Schneider added. “I’m going to be busy, but I’m excited about it.”