From New Hampshire To D-I Program In Florida For Walker

WOODSVILLE, N.H. - The scouting report on Brendan Walker at the PBR Preseason All-State showcase earlier this year had high praise for the second-rated 2022 right-handed pitcher from New Hampshire.

“Excellent prospect who is just tapping into his craft,” PBR New England co-director of scouting, Dennis Healy, said after the event in late January.

It was the start of expanding recognition for the Kimball Union Academy High School senior, who only this year began getting looked at by colleges.

“This is my first year playing travel ball, so I’ve really had no exposure,” Walker pointed out. “It all opened up by playing travel ball in the south and I’ve gotten more looks.”

A connection with Stetson was made while pitching at LakePoint, Ga.

“I ended up going to a camp at Stetson and got an offer from them,” related Walker. “I committed a couple of weeks later.”

Chris Lavoir, his pitching coach as a kid, played baseball with Stetson head coach Steve Trimper and those ties played a part in helping Walker link up with the ASUN Conference program.

“Coach Trimper is a northeast guy, so he’s like me,” Walker said of the Newton, N.J. native who went to college at Eastern Connecticut State. “He likes the grind up here. In the winter you have to throw in the gym and wear sneakers. He just likes the northeast guys.”

But there is more that brought interest in the 6-0 167-pound hurler.

“I have good velo, 87-89, but they really like my changeup a lot,” the 22nd-rated 2022 RHP in New England noted. “That’s the biggest part.”

The opportunity to play in Florida is something that Walker treasures.

“I honestly would rather be down there, I hate the winter here,” explained Walker about going to school far from home, three hours by plane followed by an hour-and-15-minute drive from Orlando to DeLand, Fla. “I hate the cold and love the warm weather.”

But the location with a nice temperature is not the only thing that stood out to Walker, who turned 18 in July.

“I’ve only heard good things about coach Trimper,” related Walker, who had one other offer along with a “couple calls” with additional schools during his recruiting process. “It’s a good program with good academics as well.”

Physical growth along with playing outside of the northeast helped the cause in Walker getting seen.

“I’ve always played in local leagues, there’s not a lot of travel ball in New Hampshire,” Walker pointed out. “I always wanted to play college baseball but it wasn’t really on my mind until this spring. I went from 79-81 in the fall to 87-89 topping at 90 in the spring, so that made it a possibility of something I could do.

“I also gained a lot of weight,” added Walker, who went from 130 pounds in August of 2020 to his current weight of 167. “The coach at my school put me on a throwing program and that helped, but it was mostly the weight gain.”

High school head coach Mike Van Dolah and pitching coach Chad Sturgeon are credited by Walker with playing important roles in a baseball journey that now heads south.

“All my life I’ve played in rec leagues with my town teams playing in New Hampshire and Vermont at local venues where college coaches don’t go,” Walker said. “But then I started playing travel with a Delaware team (US Elite Delaware Crouch) and that’s when I played in the south where I got looks and offered.”

With a D-I commitment in hand, Walker understands additional improvement is vital.

“I still need to gain velocity and also fix my breaking ball,” Walker explained. “My curve looks like a slurve and my arm slot dropped. I need to get it back up to the ¾ slot to get a 12-6 break on my breaking balls.”

A 3.88 student with aspirations to major in accounting, Walker is looking forward to a future playing baseball for a university in the state of Florida.

“Throwing outside year ’round in good weather is going to be nice,” Walker said. “I can’t wait to compete with some of the best guys in the country while getting better everyday.”

Admittedly, it comes as a surprise to some degree.

“I’ve always thought I’d go to a D-III school in New England,” Walker noted. “It’s crazy to know that I’m going to a D-I program in Florida … and at a good program.”