When Kickapoo’s Brody Wilson takes the mound, few things can shake him, especially after a deep breath.
“I just try and relax up there. Whenever things don’t go well, I just try to take a deep breath and calm myself down. I just try and get everything working,” Wilson said.
“He does not know what intimidation is; he is always wanting to be the aggressor, and when you possess his stuff plus his mentality, he just goes into attack mode,” Kickapoo head coach Jason Howser said.
You could say he’s fearless, although he does have one fear off the field.
“I don’t like the ocean that much, don’t really like sharks.”
Luckily, he’s the one smelling blood in the water when he toes the rubber, with a fastball regularly in the mid-90s; he’s got stuff few high school pitchers do.
“He’s just an ultimate competitor, I think that when you take good talent with that mindset, that’s what makes elite high school pitchers,” Howser said.
The mental makeup with the above-average pitches had Division I schools calling.
“Missouri State, they see what we see.”
He couldn’t pass up the school he’s admired since he was a kid – Missouri State.
“I just want to compete out there and do my best. They’ve had a good program there for a really long time now, and I’m just excited to get out there,” Wilson said.
Pro scouts have noticed too, and Wilson knows how he’ll get to that level.
“That’s really what gets you to the next level is velocity nowadays’
On top of that, they see how well-rounded he is as a person; it’s part of the reason younger Kickapoo pitchers look up to him.
“He didn’t quit on football, he’s the valedictorian, and he’s an all-around good guy – those people you want to see succeed,” Howser said.
He’s made his mark at Kickapoo, and he’s only just getting started.
