Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Yarnell
BRODY YARNELL
Colfax High School junior Brody Yarnell will travel to Mesa, Ariz., in December to participate in the Under Armour Baseball Factory Recruiting Classic and National Tournament. He was one of 130 selected after a tryout Oct. 4 at Gonzaga Prep in Spokane.
Yarnell accepted an invitation to the tryout, which he said he tried to treat just like another baseball game.
“My mindset was 'it's just like another baseball thing' and just go out and have fun,” he said.
Yarnell was notified of his selection Oct. 6.
“I got pretty excited!” he said.
The four-day tournament in Mesa will be Dec. 27-30 with the 130 players divided into equal teams. They will play at the Gene Autry Sports Complex, the former spring training site of the Los Angeles Angels.
Yarnell has been on the varsity Colfax team for two seasons and was part of the 26-2 team that advanced to the state championship game last season. He primarily plays outfield and shortstop.
He also participates in the Spokane Indians youth baseball league in the fall and American Legion baseball in the summer.
“He plays three seasons a year. He puts in a lot of hours,” Blaire Daniel, his mom, said. “He's been into baseball since he was three. He loves the game.”
Yarnell said he has always followed the New York Yankees, his favorite team, and the athlete who inspires him is Derek Jeter, the former Yankees' shortstop. Yarnell said he likes Jeter because of the way he played the game.
“He didn't play for money,” he said. “He played for the love of the game.”
Yarnell said he injured his elbow two weeks ago, so right now his preparation for the tournament is resting.
“I'm taking the time to recover and then get going again,” he said.
He anticipates being able to start practicing again soon and said his preparation will be to gather friends to play catch, hit and field ground balls.
“The kind of stuff you would do in a normal practice,” he said.
Yarnell is looking forward to meeting new people at the tournament in December and for the learning opportunities.
College and professional scouts will be on hand at the tournament, and Yarnell hopes to impress them.
“I'm hoping other teams around the state and country will look at me and want me to play for them,” he said.
He plans to play college ball and then reach for the professional level.
“His career goal is Major League Baseball,” Daniel said.
Yarnell said he will travel with his mom, dad, Alan Yarnell, and younger brother, Joseph, 12, to Arizona for the tournament.
Daniel has set up a U.S. Bank account under Duane Brody Yarnell so the community can make donations to support the trip.
Yarnell also now has a profile on Baseball Factory's website, which will be updated after the tournament with videos of him participating.
Reader Comments(0)