Junior Dan Brewer’s Bat Lands Him As a Top 100 College Prospect

In high school, Dan Brewer had a decision to make. The three-sport heralded athlete from Lyons Township High School was juggling with an offer from Northwestern University to play both football and baseball.

“I knew I didn’t want to play baseball in the Big Ten, and returning punts against Big Ten opponents didn’t seem too appealing either,” Brewer, 20, said jokingly knowing all too well the hits he would had taken at that position.

Add three older brothers who all played college baseball, and the decision to stick with just one sport became pretty easy for Brewer who achieved first-team All-State baseball honors from the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times as a senior in high school.

With his mind made up, Brewer decided to play his collegiate ball at Bradley University of the Missouri Valley Conference after turning down other scholarship offers from Indiana State University and University of Illinois at Chicago.

“I felt extremely comfortable with the players [at Bradley] and the coaches,” said Brewer, who has been an All-MVC performer for the Braves his first two seasons. “I knew I would get a good opportunity there.”

Dewey Kalmer, Bradley’s head baseball coach for the last 29 years, added, “[Dan] was a top recruit for us. We were looking at four different shortstops with the mindset that whoever we got would be starting as a freshman. We knew we needed a blue chip guy, and Dan ended up probably being the best of the four guys we looked at.”

The utility player from Brookfield, Illinois has certainly maximized his opportunities at Bradley.

As a freshman, he led the Braves in almost every offensive category including batting average (.347), hits (68), runs (42), doubles (20), home runs (5) and stolen bases (8). His sophomore year didn’t disappoint either—(.313, 10 HR, 20 SB).

As a result of two strong college seasons, Brewer was invited to play in the prestigious Cape Cod League for the Hyannis Mets after playing his first summer season in the Central Illinois Collegiate League for the DuPage Dragons.

“The pitching and competition are tremendously different between both leagues,” said Brewer, who made the 2007 Cape Cod All-Star game as a DH. “The competition in the Cape was amazing. It definitely puts in perspective your own baseball talents.”

Brewer, who plays both infield and outfield, held his own in the Cape Cod League where he put up impressive numbers (.298, 7 HR, 11 2B, 32 RBI).

“He definitely improved his draft slot by playing in the Cape,” said Kalmer, who has had more than 60 players sign professional contracts. “He gained notoriety for himself as one of the top hitters in that league.”

His summer performance did not go unnoticed as Brewer was named one of the Top 30 prospects in the Cape Cod League (30) by Baseball America, Top 100 College Baseball prospects (71) by BA and a preseason All-MVC first team selection.

“I always hoped to be a junior draft, and it’s amazing that it might happen,” said Brewer, who is hitting .362 for the Braves this season. “The season is not done yet though, but knowing that I’m almost there, it means a lot.”

Brewer said scouts have told him he could go anywhere from the third to the fifth round in the Major League Baseball draft on June 5. Brewer wouldn’t elaborate on what type of money it would take for him to sign a professional contract, but said his family and coaches would help in the decision-making process.

“There are a lot of factors that go into the draft, and it always comes down to money,” Kalmer said. “Dan’s not going to be a power guy in professional baseball, but the guy can hit. I always say if you can hit, you have a real chance of making the big leagues. Dan does have a legitimate chance of making it.”

After having first round and major league talents in Kirby Puckett, Mike Dunne and Jim Lindeman, Kalmer said Brewer, who he assumes will be drafted, ranks in the top third of draft picks he has personally recruited.

When asked if Brewer had a team he always wanted to play for, he replied, “I’ve always been a White Sox fan, so it would be dream come true to play for them. I’ve also really started to like the Brewers as well.”

For Brewer, it’s a long way from having potentially been a tackling dummy in the Big Ten.