Jerome graduate Brayden Krenzel to pitch at Tennessee

Coming off a stellar baseball career at Dublin Jerome, Brayden Krenzel is looking forward to his next step on the road to what he hopes is eventually a professional career.

Krenzel will begin classes early this month at the University of Tennessee, joining a baseball program coming off its first national championship. The Volunteers beat Texas A&M 6-5 in the decisive Game 3 of the College World Series final in Omaha, Nebraska, on June 27.

Krenzel, a pitcher, hopes to make an immediate impact at Tennessee.

“It came down to couple of schools, but at the end of the day Tennessee was a no-brainer for me with the coaching staff and how close it is to home,” said Krenzel, who committed to the Volunteers in the spring of his sophomore year. “It’s a perfect distance. Just everything about it. ... They develop arms at a very high level. They love to compete. They love winning, but they also hate losing.”

Like most players of Krenzel’s caliber, he has high hopes of pitching professionally.

Jerome coach Drew Kirby says Krenzel has the potential and could possibly be selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, which will be held July 14-16 in Arlington, Texas.

If drafted, Krenzel will need to decide whether to enroll at Tennessee or begin his professional career and forgo his opportunity to pitch for the Volunteers and a name, image and likeness (NIL) deal.

“It’s something that I’ve kept in mind,” Krenzel said of playing professionally. “Obviously, once you get this far you start looking ahead. The major leagues is the ultimate dream now. That’s the ultimate goal. Hopefully someday I’m blessed enough to make it that far.”

Krenzel's father, Craig, was a quarterback at Ohio State, helping lead the Buckeyes to the BCS national championship in 2002, beating Miami 30-24 in overtime.

Craig went on to play in the NFL for one season with Chicago in 2004.

Brayden says his dad rarely shares stories of his past success, instead focusing on providing life lessons on and off the athletic field.

“He likes to leave (his success) in the past,” Brayden said. “He uses certain lessons and things that he learned about his process to help me. He does share the occasional story, but for the most part, he’s just trying to teach me on what he learned over his whole journey. ... Without my family, I don’t know that I would be in the same place that I am now.”

Craig says he has a simple message for his four children.

“One of the things that’s important for us as parents and try to get our kids to understand is think about tomorrow, not yesterday,” Craig said. “That’s the way I’m wired. We spend a lot more time talking about tomorrow. Whether it’s me personally in my business or whether it’s the kids in sports or school. What are we doing today to be better tomorrow. What I was able to be a part of 22 years ago doesn’t really come up very often.”

Brayden began his career at Jerome as a three-sport athlete, also playing basketball and football.

He played football for one season and basketball for three before focusing just on baseball entering this senior year.

“It was a real tough decision,” he said. “I miss playing basketball so much. Basketball was one of my favorite sports to play because I could go out there and be an athlete and have fun.”

Krenzel played under two Central District Coaches Association Hall of Fame baseball coaches in his first three seasons in Chris Huesman and Tim Saunders, with Kirby replacing Saunders for the 2024 season.

“I think coach Kirby is going to be awesome for this program, establishing a new culture and really building Dublin Jerome into something to something that I think it could be,” Krenzel said.

Kirby says he was aware of Krenzel’s potential after previously coaching at Dublin Coffman and Buckeye Valley.

“We always say the player is never bigger than the program, but his impact on this program has been unbelievable,” Kirby said. “Not just as a player, but as a person. He’s been unreal. ... At the beginning of the season, he wanted to find a way to lead a little bit more. He led through his actions the entire offseason all the way through the season.”

An early season back injury limited Krenzel’s time on the mound, but he remained a solid contributor at the plate.

He batted .409 with 11 doubles, two triples, two home runs and 18 RBIs. K renzel was limited to 36 innings on the mound, finishing 1-3 with a 1.94 ERA with 52 strikeouts and 10 walks. He was first-team all-district and OCC-Cardinal and honorable mention all-state in Division I as a utility player and was named to the Dispatch’s All-Metro team.

As a junior, he had a 2.00 ERA with 70 strikeouts in 50⅔ innings and batted .353 with 19 runs scored, 11 RBIs, seven doubles and one home run. He was first-team all-OCC-Cardinal and honorable mention all-district.

His fastball has been clocked as high as 94.5 mph.

Krenzel also credits his time playing for Bo Jackson’s Elite program under coach Cory Valentine as a key to his advancement in the sport.

fdirenna@dispatch.com

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Jerome graduate Brayden Krenzel to pitch at Tennessee