Iowa flamethrower Brody Brecht tabbed midseason All-American

Thanks to a terrific start to his sophomore campaign, Brody Brecht is garnering first-team All-American love.

If there were any questions as to why Iowa sophomore Brody Brecht decided to cease football to devote his full attention to baseball, this should provide a clear answer.

Hawkeyes pitcher Brody Brecht was named a midseason first-team All-American by Perfect Game on Tuesday afternoon. He is one of five starting pitchers selected by Perfect Game for this first-team list.

The Ankeny, Iowa, native leads the Hawkeyes with a 2.60 ERA in seven starts. Brecht ranks 11th in the nation in strikeouts with 59 and is third in strikeouts-per-nine innings (15.77). He is also 14th in the country with 5.08 hits allowed per nine innings.

Brecht has dazzled fans and scouts alike with his fantastic arm on the mound. According to the official press release that Iowa Athletics put out today, Brecht has topped 100 mph 26 times on the radar gun where TrackMan data is available. He has surpassed 95 mph 189 times. Brecht recently turned heads throughout the baseball world with his casual 104 mph fastball against Maryland. He struck out 13 batters in that outing.

LSU coach Jay Johnson praised Brecht recently, giving him credit as one of few pitchers to slow down the Tigers’ offense so far this year.

Midway through the season, there is a ton of buzz around the sophomore right-handed pitcher. Much has been made about his fastball, casually topping 100 mph, but he’s shown off a wicked slurve as well. Even his breaking pitches are the speed of an average college pitcher’s fastball.

Still only 20 years old, look for Brecht to be one of the top collegiate prospects in the MLB draft.

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