Brady Miguel legged out approximately a half-dozen infield singles last season, a testament to his speed and willingness to hustle on every play. College coaches notice that, and it’s a big reason why Miguel was offered a package to attend school and play baseball at Minot State University in North Dakota, a program that recently transitioned into Division II classification. Miguel, a San Benito High senior, signed his letter of intent two weeks ago, culminating a process that saw Minot State offering Miguel a scholarship two months ago.
“I feel blessed and grateful to have a place to play baseball for the next four years,” said Miguel, a 5-foot-10, 165-pound shortstop/second baseman.
According to Miguel, the Minot State coaches said they liked his speed, defense and left-handed bat. Having a professional-type mindset was key as well.
“When I’m out there, I don’t have a lot of emotions,” he said. “I play at 110 percent—not just for myself, but my teammates and coaches. Ever since I was young, my dads told me to never get to high and never get to low, to stay even-keel. I’ve kind of lived off that mentality my whole life.”
Miguel comes from a family of talented and hard-working athletes. His oldest sister, Paige, helped lead the San Benito High softball team to four Central Coast Section championships. Another older sister, Chace, starred at San Benito High and Hartnell College and is currently playing for Cal State East Bay. Having two older siblings who accomplished great things on the athletic field paved the way for Miguel to establish his own path while learning from the best.
Brady credits his dad, Joey, for always supporting him, especially from an early age. Miguel also credited Paige for helping him get through a particularly challenging time he went through last season.
“Whenever I ran into a mental block, she worked me through it and gave me a lot of good advice,” Brady said.
A 5-foot-10, 165-pound shortstop/second baseman, Miguel packed on 10 pounds of muscle since last spring, which has given him added confidence at the plate.
“I feel a noticeable difference,” he said. “I’m hitting the ball harder.”
Once the 2018 high school season ended, Miguel went straight to playing with his club team, Dub Dynasty out of Morgan Hill. Owner Erik Wagle connected his players with a trainer, and Miguel took full advantage of it.
“I got bigger, stronger and faster,” he said. “Wagle gave us that motto, and I pretty much worked all off-season to get it done. I also worked on building my mental game.”
Miguel can’t wait for the high school season to start. The Haybalers would love nothing more than to erase the tag of being the best program in the CCS to have never won a section championship. Miguel said he wants to be a part of the team that gets the current coaching staff—Billy Aviles, Mike Luna, Dave Marquez and Angelo Loomis—a CCS title.
Minot State first “saw” Miguel through the NCTB, the largest provider of youth baseball tournaments in Northern California. The NCTB profiled Miguel on its website, and from there Minot State contacted Wagle, who notified Miguel. The Minot State coach kept in constant communication with Miguel over the next couple of months, culminating in a scholarship offer.
