Ben Brecht felt alone.
It was the summer of 2013, and Brecht, now a senior pitcher at New Trier, was playing for the Trevians varsity summer team between his freshman and sophomore years. He didn’t play much. He was the youngest player on the team. He didn’t know anyone well. He didn’t feel like he belonged.
“That was a long summer for me,” said Brecht, a 6-foot-71/2 lefty who can throw upward of 92 miles per hour. “I didn’t feel like I had earned anyone’s respect. I was just this kid that no one knew. I was just kind of there.”
But he soon developed meaningful friendships on the team, and by the following spring he had blossomed into New Trier’s number-one option, pitching the most innings on the team and registering the most strikeouts.
Today, Brecht stands as New Trier’s ace and is ranked as one of the best pitchers in the Midwest and a legitimate MLB prospect. For the 2015 season, he recorded 70 strikeouts and allowed just 15 hits and six runs in eight games. He finished with a 4-0 record and a 0.69 ERA. Brecht has been just as dominant as senior. He’s struck out 29, walked six and allowed two earned runs in 17 innings, giving him a 0.58 ERA and a 3-0 record.
“He’s the best high school pitcher I’ve seen,” teammate Justin Romic said of Brecht, whose nickname is “Big Ben.”
Next season, Brecht intends on playing college baseball at UC Santa Barbara for coach Andrew Checketts.
“I feel that going to USCB will further my pitching career and develop me into a professional baseball player better than any other school in the country,” said Brecht, who also looked at Michigan and Arizona State, among others. “They build their entire program around pitchers.”
Checketts, a former college and minor league pitcher, lauds Brecht’s talent and competitive nature.
“We think he’s pretty special,” Checketts said.
But if he’s drafted by an MLB team in June, Brecht will face a dilemma — go to college and play three or four years there, or go pro and begin his journey in the minor leagues. For now, he’s not focused on that potential choice.
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“At this point, I really don’t know — it remains to be seen,” Brecht said. “It all comes down to the draft.”
For a long time, though, MLB dreams have dominated his thoughts about the future.
“Since I’ve been 5 years old, I’ve known that I want to be a professional baseball player,” Brecht said. “When I was in kindergarten, they asked me what I want to be when I grow up. And I wrote it down — that I wanted to play for the Cubs. Pitching in the major leagues is my one goal.”
Brecht has been a rock for his coach, Mike Napoleon, forming a part of the team’s leadership committee.
“He’s sincere,” Napoleon said. “He’s kind of a no-nonsense type of guy. Guys look up to him, and not just figuratively. He doesn’t brag. He doesn’t boast.”
Brecht’s dad, Tom, played college basketball at Columbia in New York and stands 6-8. When he was 3 years old, his mom, Kira, and Tom got divorced.
Ben Brecht lives with Kira, while Tom, who currently lives just outside of Philadelphia, sees his son around six times a year.
“It’s been a struggle for me, but we make it work,” Brecht said. “I have very solid relationships with both of my parents. My dad has played a huge role in shaping my athletic career. … And my mom has been incredibly supportive.”
And for Ben Brecht, pitching has been a sort of lifelong craft.
“I love to throw things,” he said. “Me and my dad, when I was 5 years old, would play games where we were always throwing stuff, just messing around and throwing things at each other. … Today, I don’t know where I would be in life without pitching — it brings me amazing happiness and satisfaction.”
Sam Brief is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @sambrief