It is very rare nowadays to see college athletes competing at a Division 1 level in multiple sports. That is the case for Iowa baseball and football player Brody Brecht. However, his dual-sport flexibility is coming to an end.
Brecht announced on Friday that he has decided to step away from football to focus on his baseball career.
He announced his plans on Twitter.
“Football is my first love,” Brecht said in his statement. “But in the past few years, baseball has become my true passion. With that said, I have decided to step away from football to focus full-time on my college baseball career. I want to be great at baseball and hope to play Major League Baseball in the future. I believe putting my focus fully on baseball is the best way for me to achieve that goal.”
Brecht only recorded nine catches as a wide receiver for Iowa this past season. However, his baseball career appears to be far more promising in terms of making it to the next level.
The Iowa sophomore was rated as the No. 77 prospect available for the 2021 MLB Draft. He may even end up going higher than that in the MLB Draft someday after an impressive freshman baseball season. Brecht was named to the Freshman All-American team as a pitcher and throws as hard as 100 miles per hour.
Many around the baseball world took notice of this decision and believe that he is absolutely making the right choice.
Iowa two-sport athlete Brecht announces his plan to step away from football, solely focus on baseball
Juggling both had to have been hard. Good for him https://t.co/Y2fVzqG4HO
— Noah Sacco (@NoahSaccoTV) March 25, 2023
Smart here from Pitcher/WR Brody Brecht to step away from football.
He’s got the potential to make 9 figures in MLB and it’s not worth risking that by getting hit over the middle in a college football game. https://t.co/JPpsed4qEp
— Ari Alexander (@AriA1exander) March 25, 2023
Brody Brecht certainly has some massive potential in baseball. Continuing to play a contact sport like football at the college level would certainly be a risk, so he is probably making a very smart decision here for his future.