Future Bronco Brett Sunde Named Michigan Baseball Player of the Year
KALAMAZOO, Mich.- Incoming Bronco baseball freshman Brett Sunde was recently named the 2012 Michigan Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year by ESPN.
Winners are determined by the program's three pillars: athletic production and impact in the 2011-12 season, high academic achievement and exemplary personal character.
Sunde is a six-foot, 195-pound catcher from Bishop Foley Catholic High School in Madison Heights, Mich., and signed a National Letter of Intent to Western Michigan this past November.
Before signing with WMU, Sunde also considered the likes of Cincinnati, Maryland, Wake Forest and Auburn.
Brett's father, and high school coach, Buster Sunde, was a First Team All-Mid-American Conference selection at WMU in 1982 and played professionally with the Chicago White Sox from 1982-84.
GATORADE PLAYER OF THE YEAR PILLARS:
Athletic achievement: Sunde led the Ventures (34-3) to the school's first ever Catholic League title entering the Division 3 state tournament. At the time of Sunde's state Player of the Year selection, he batted .500 with 43 RBI, 40 runs scored and a .664 on-base percentage. A two-time First Team All-State honoree, Sunde also helped Bishop Foley win the 2011 Division 3 state title as a junior.
Academic excellence: Sunde has maintained a 3.27 GPA in the classroom.
Exemplary character: He has volunteered locally on behalf of the Salvation Army and as a youth baseball coach, and participated in an effort to remodel a handicapped-accessible home for an area quadriplegic resident.
THE PRAISE
"Brett Sunde has been a tremendous player in our area," said Andy Schramek, head coach at Lake Orion (Mich.). "He can control a game from behind the plate and in the batter's box. I haven't seen any other player this year that I would consider to be better than him."
Information contained in this article courtesy of ESPN.
