Baseball Hello: Cody Bruder
Erik Bakich and his staff are once again tapping into the California juco ranks that this year brought a key player to the team—Jackson Glines, whose stellar Wolverine debut season earned him second-team All–Big Ten honors. Looking to shore up the weak area of this year's team—the offense—the Michigan staff today received a verbal commitment from Cody Bruder, a 6-0, 175-lb. outfielder at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa.
This season, Bruder batted .359 (66-for-184), with 4 homers, 8 triples, 31 RBIs, and 36 runs scored. He was named first-team All–Orange Empire Conference and helped lead his team to a state championship.
Academically, Bruder seems like a good fit for Michigan. The OCC student newspaper ran a feature article on him last year, in which they point out his 4.1 GPA as a senior at Santiago High, where he was named student athlete of the year. He's majoring in zoology at OCC and "wants to earn his master’s degree and become a wildlife biologist to help save endangered species through breeding and habitat conservation."
Word on Bruder's commitment came via his older sister Kelsey Bruder, who played softball both at Florida and then professionally. Kelsey Bruder in 2011 won the Honda Award for softball, awarded to the top college female athlete in that sport.
CODYS A WOLVERINE, CODYS A WOLVERINE, CODYS A WOLVERINE!!!!!! Little bro just committed to play baseball at THE University of Michigan!!!!
— Kelsey Bruder (@KelseyBruder2) June 1, 2014
I don't know why. The admissions department hates it for some reason.
Did you notice he had a 4.1 GPA in HS? Football and basketbal players go the JUCO route almost exclusively because they can't qualify academically. Baseball players can have other reasons, mostly that full rides in baseball are very hard to get, except at JUCOs. He was undoubtably taking classes whose credits transfer to UM. Students struggling with HS academics typically don't. It also helps that California has a strong JUCO system.
Below is a chart of Michigan's known high school signees for 2014. One name has been dropped off this chart since I last posted it in November: Rahman Williams (whose commitment was announced here). Prep Baseball Report (PBR) just reported yesterday in this rundown that Williams will not attend Michigan and is instead heading for a juco in Texas. (Note that if you cursor over the underlined text in the far-right column, a scouting report will pop up.)
The MLB Draft is coming up next week, and the Michigan coaching staff will certainly be following it closely as several of the 2014 signees have been the subject of draft buzz. The two players most likely to be drafted high enough that they might sign seem to be Jayce Vancena and Drew Lugbauer. Baseball America just posted their top 500 for the draft and included Vancena at #425. Perfect Game has both Vancena and Lugbauer ranked somewhere between #301 and #350 in their top 500 for the draft.
Also, Bakich mentioned on WTKA the other day that he's anticipating that junior pitchers James Bourque and Trent Szkutnik will be drafted next week—and high enough that there's a good chance they'll sign. Perfect Game has Bourque ranked between #451 and #500.
| 2014 Commits | Position, School | Hgt., Wt. | PG Rank/Grade | PBR Rank | MBP Rank | Scouting Rpt. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jake Bivens | SS/2B, Battle Creek Lakeview H.S. (MI) | 6-0, 175 | n/a | region: #70; MI: #7 | MI: #8 | PBR |
| Michael Hendrickson | LHP, Saline H.S. (MI) | 6-2, 175 | n/a | region: #150; MI: #17 | MI: #21 | PBR |
| Oliver Jaskie | LHP, Grandville H.S. (MI) | 6-4, 190 | n/a | region: #221; MI: #26 | MI: #17 | PBR |
| Ty Kiafoulis | OF, Birmingham Brother Rice (MI) | 6-5, 230 | Grade: 8 | MI: #69 | MI: #11 | PG |
| Drew Lugbauer | C/3B, Arlington H.S. (Pleasant Valley, NY) | 6-4, 210 | Grade: 8.5 | n/a | n/a | MLBlogs |
| Ryan Nutof | RHP, South Elgin H.S. (IL) | 6-2, 190 | n/a | region: #68; IL: #11 | n/a | PBR |
| Bryan Pall | RHP, Carl Sandburg H.S. (Orland Park, IL) | 6-2, 205 | US: #343; IL: #10 | region: #45; IL: #14 | n/a | PBR |
| Grant Reuss | LHP, Cranbrook Kingswood (Bloomfield Hills, MI) | 6-5, 205 | n/a | region: #42; MI: #4 | MI: #2 | PBR |
| Jayce Vancena | RHP, Lake H.S. (Millbury, OH) | 6-4, 220 | n/a | region: #13; OH: #3 | n/a | PBR |
Yes. He's the head coach there. I had no idea about the Michigan connection there. Fairman is pictured below (center, I think), during Grant Reuss's signing ceremony (from MI Prep Zone article—which also covers tennis player Alexandria Najarian, another future Wolverine).
In their final update of their top 500 prior to the MLB Draft, Baseball America bumped Jayce Vancena up to #352. Also, Ryan Nutof is another Michigan signee who's been the recipient of some draft buzz.
I noticed Maryland has had a very good season this year. Is it with Bakich recruits or with players who came after he left?
I took a quick look at their roster and stats, and it looks like a combination of the two. For example, of their top two pitchers, one was a Bakich recruit and one is a freshman. Bakich certainly deserves credit for turning that program around (which until this year hadn't been to the NCAA tournament since 1971) and heading it in the right direction.
A Baltimore Sun writer in this article certainly gave Bakich some credit without explicitly saying so:
The current crop of seniors — a group that finished 5-25 in conference play in 2011 — has helped catapult Maryland baseball back into the national landscape. With a revamped, business-like coaching staff in its second year, a mix of young and veteran talent, and a newfound swagger, the vision the players and coaches shared has become a reality.
Cody was a former student of mine. Wish him all the best. Congrats Cody and Go Blue!
Interesting and somewhat surprising comments on Szkutnick and Bourque if they do get drafted and sign. Is Jr. Jackson Glines also a candidate to be drafted?
Team needs to make things happen next year in 2015 as M will likely loss Maezes, Hill and Croenenworth to the MLB next June.
2015 newcomer Maryland figures to be a challenger for the BIG with an NCAA #2 seed and decisive victory over perennial power South Carolina to advance to Super Regional at Virginia.
I haven't seen Glines's name come up with regard to the draft, and when Bakich talked about next year's team the other day (during the same appearance when he mentioned Szkutnik and Bourque as likely to be drafted and sign), he specifically mentioned Glines as one of the key returnees. So it doesn't appear that he's a candidate to be drafted.
I would mildly disagree that the team "needs" to make things happen in 2015. I think the team will do better next year, and I'm sure Bakich is expecting them to compete for a Big Ten title and make the NCAA tournament. Beyond that, who knows?
I guess my real point is that Bakich has elevated the recruiting to a point where Michigan should now be competing for Big Ten titles and be in a position for an NCAA run every year. For example, yes, the team will likely lose Hill after next year, but the starting rotation should still be in great shape in 2016 with Brett Adcock, Keith Lehmann, and the slew of highly rated pitchers signed/committed in the 2014 and 2015 classes.