‘Twas the night ‘fore September
And all thru the land
A lot of girls are nervous
Had they shown their best hand
The work was all done
Their talent is rare
All their hopes and their wishes
Lie with a coach who might care
When the clock strikes 12, will their phones be ringing
Hurry up September 1, they’re tired of dreaming!

*     *     *

Brylee Brewster is as patient and poised as they come when she’s in the circle. 

The 17-year old southpaw has used that same approach for her recruitment journey. 

“My coaches have always told me ‘control what I can control’,” Brewster said. “In games, I try to be the best that I can be with every pitch. And it’s the same with recruiting; if I’m the best that I can be, everything else will work itself out.”

As an 8 year old, Brewster used her natural athleticism to lead her hometown Torque Fastpitch to several tournament trophies. However, as her rare talent began to develop, she and her family knew that a move was necessary.

“I had a lot of fun playing with Torque,” she said. “My dad was one of my coaches and I got to play with a lot of my friends, but when I was only 12, I knew that I loved softball and I just wanted more.”

Enter the KC Peppers.

At 12, Brewster started playing at the 14U level with the KC Peppers and made 2-hour practice trips to be with her Olathe, Kansas based team. After two years at 14U, she moved up within the organization to play 16U as a 14 year old. Two years later, at just 16, she found herself on the 18U squad playing with and against some of the best players in some of the best events across the country.

With the now BC Peppers, Brewster is being charged to lead the next wave of young talent on coach Jeff Wallace’s roster, all while controlling her own recruitment. 

“Brylee is a veteran of the 18U battles, yet only going into her junior year,” Wallace said. “She has pitched against college level talent and is ready to lead a talented group of athletes.”

Wallace went on to say, “She has been playing with college recruiters watching for years. The process doesn’t intimidate her.”

Though she has worked with a few different pitching coaches over the years, Brewster has landed with Tracey Bunge, widely regarded as one of the top pitching coaches in the Midwest.

“Brylee is a joy to coach,” Bunge commented. “She has improved mechanically, has worked hard to improve her core strength and leg strength and her spins have improved on all pitches, but her greatest improvement has been mentally, with her growth and understanding how to work counts and get hitters out. She has gone from a thrower to a pitcher and continues to get better.”

Along with her parents; Wallace, Bunge and several other coaches have helped Brewster ready herself to fulfill that 8 year old little girl’s dreams of taking her next step of getting onto a college campus.

“She is just beginning to tap into her potential,” Bunge said. “Brylee still has a lot of room for growth.”

But where will Brewster nurture that growth?  She’ll have options. 

She answers multiple phone calls and now receives many texts and emails from numerous Division I schools. And with several Power 5’s showing interest, those dreams are even closer to reality than that little girl ever thought.