Brady O’Brien ’24 Signs Pro Baseball Contract
After a stellar career at Colby and one year with the University of Richmond, O’Brien joins the Seattle Mariners organization as an undrafted free agent
Brady O’Brien ’24, a standout baseball player at Colby who gained a fifth year of NCAA eligibility because of Covid-19 and became one of the country’s most productive run-producers during his single season with DI University of Richmond, has signed a professional contract with the Seattle Mariners.
O’Brien, who majored in economics with a concentration in financial markets at Colby and earned a certificate in data analytics at the University of Richmond, reported to the Mariners’ minor-league complex last week and began the latest chapter in his quest to play baseball at the major-league level.
O’Brien, a four-year starter at Colby, mostly at third base, signed as an undrafted free agent on July 19, a few days after he experienced the disappointment of being passed over during the draft.
“I feel super fortunate to receive this opportunity. This has been my goal for a long time,” he said, thanking Colby Head Baseball Coach Jesse Woods for helping him develop as a player and connecting him with the University of Richmond, where he excelled against the best competition in the country.
“I still say to this day, going to Colby was the best decision I ever made,” said O’Brien, a team captain during his junior and senior years with the Mules. “It’s very rare in today’s college baseball to start for four years, and I was able to do that under Coach Woods. He treated me like a son, and I am grateful to him for the opportunity he gave me.”
After playing second base during his first year at Colby, O’Brien moved to third for his sophomore season and became a fixture, leading the Mules to unprecedented success. During his senior year, when Colby finished 29-12 and earned its first national ranking since the NCAA established DIII in 1976 and a spot in the NCAA tournament, he batted .336 with an on-base percentage of .459.
Moving up to the DI level meant more games against better competition, a challenging matrix that O’Brien met with such flourish that the larger baseball world began paying attention as the season progressed and he piled up impressive statistics. During his single season at Richmond, he was ninth in the nation with a .777 slugging percentage and 11th in the country in both home runs with 20 and RBIs with 72.
With Richmond, he had a 22-game on-base streak and 25 multi-hit games. He was named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America First Team, CSC Academic All-District Team, and American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings NCAA Division I All-Atlantic Region Second Team.
‘It didn’t go the way I wanted’
O’Brien spoke from the Mariners’ spring training complex in Arizona, where he joined other players who recently signed with the organization for what is known as draft camp. The onboarding process for becoming a professional athlete involves undergoing physical exams, learning the values and principles of the organization, and attending presentations about adjusting to professional life, including topics such as managing income and understanding the demands, expectations, and pressure associated with being a professional athlete.
Actual games begin this week.
It’s been a whirlwind, he said, beginning with dealing with a range of emotions from the disappointment of being passed over during the three-day draft to the euphoria of signing as a free agent a few days later.
“Toward the end of the season, I started to get interest from some teams, and as the draft got closer, I had interviews and calls. I was really hoping to get picked on the second day of the draft,” he said. “I just sat there and watched the whole thing, and obviously it didn’t go the way I wanted.”
“This solidifies that you can truly accomplish all things at Colby—you can have team success, personal success, and if your goal is becoming a professional baseball player, you can do that too.”
Jesse Woods, Colby Head Baseball Coach
As he processed the disappointment of accomplishing his goal of performing at a high level and then not being selected among his peers, he talked to coaches and others, including his grandfather. They encouraged him not to give up his dream, but to find other ways of achieving it.
“That motivated me to get back to who I am and get back to my plan,” O’Brien said. “They helped me turn my attitude around, and I went to the gym to work out with my trainer and get back at it.”
During that workout, the day after the draft ended, he missed more than a dozen calls and texts from advisors, scouts, coaches, and family members, all urging him to check his messages. The Mariners didn’t use a draft pick to select O’Brien, but they still wanted to sign him and were prepared to offer him a contract.
He felt euphoric, satisfied that his hard work had paid off and that he would get the opportunity he craved as a child growing up in North Andover, Mass.
“That was a special moment. I was super happy that day,” O’Brien said. “I had a ton of calls to my family and friends and coaches and teammates along the way, who helped me get there. I am so grateful I got to share it with so many loved ones.”
The Colby connection
Woods, the Colby head coach, played a key role in O’Brien’s development. In addition to rewarding O’Brien with playing time and leadership roles, he also counseled his star player on his aspirations in baseball and beyond.
Because of time lost to the pandemic, O’Brien was among Colby athletes with an extra fifth year of NCAA eligibility. Woods talked with O’Brien about how he wanted to use that year, and then advocated for O’Brien with Richmond head coach Mike Aoki, with whom Woods had worked before coming to Colby.
“Coach Woods has been a huge help making me a man and making me a better baseball player and helping me move forward in my career,” O’Brien said. “Early on, I told him this was my goal, and he helped me every step of the way.”
Woods said he was proud to play a role in O’Brien’s ascent, and he said O’Brien’s signing with the Mariners represents a level of accomplishment for the player and the program. “Brady’s job now is every kid’s dream. He gets to play baseball, and he gets paid to do it. As a kid, he always had that dream, and now he has made that dream a reality,” Woods said.
“For Colby baseball, it solidifies who we are and what we can achieve as a program. We have been able to accomplish a lot on the field, and we have been able to accomplish a lot as a program. This solidifies that you can truly accomplish all things at Colby—you can have team success, personal success, and if your goal is becoming a professional baseball player, you can do that too.”
Colby baseball players have a limited history in Major League Baseball, and none recently. Jack Coombs, a graduate from 1906 after whom the Colby baseball and softball complex is named, was a three-time World Series champion with the Philadelphia Athletics. Norm Gigon ’59 played for the Chicago Cubs, and Ed Phillips ’66 pitched for the Red Sox in 1970.
For O’Brien, there are numerous examples of undrafted free agents who have performed at a high level in major league baseball over time and recently, including Maine’s Mike Bordick, Hall of Fame pitcher Bruce Sutter, Kirby Yates, Kevin Millar, Bobby Bonilla, Larry Bowa, and many others.
Back to baseball
Baseball activities resume this week in Arizona as part of a bridge league involving rookie-league players and those who have just signed as draft picks or undrafted free agents. O’Brien will play in that league through early September and then return to North Andover for a brief break before going back to the desert in October for a high-performance camp.
He plans to spend his winter at home with an individual personal development plan, and he is expected to show up for spring training prepared to compete for a roster spot on one of the Mariners’ minor league teams. His short-term goal is making it to low-A ball, then working his way up through the progressively competitive minor-league levels from A to AA to AAA and eventually the big leagues.
“It couldn’t happen to a better person,” Woods said. “If you look up what a Coby baseball player should be in all walks of life, that is who Brady truly is. He graduated with a tremendous GPA, he was active in the community, and he was captain of our baseball team. He helped redefine what baseball performance is all about.”
In doing so, O’Brien achieved his childhood dream and set an example for players with similar big-league aspirations who follow him to Colby and beyond.
