The Thompson Rivers University WolfPack baseball program announced on Wednesday through a team press release that they have added Cranbrook’s Jake Bromley to their roster for the 2017-18 season.
According to the team, despite having several Kootenay-players, Bromley is the first Cranbrook-native to join the Kamloops-based squad in recent years.
“[Bromley] will be a great fit for our program,” said TRU head coach Ray Chadwick. “He will compete for the centre field job. He has plus speed and will help us win a lot of games with his legs both on offence and defense.”
The 2016 Mount Baker Secondary graduate has been playing for the American Legion Montana League’s Cranbrook Bandits since 2013 and currently splits his time between the field and the pitcher’s mound.
He currently leads the Bandits ‘A’ team in hits and is second in RBIs.
“I was looking to all the different schools around BC and Alberta,” Bromley said of his decision to join TRU. “Thompson Rivers gave me a good feeling. I loved my school visit [and] Ray is a great coach and all I have heard about him was great.”
Bromley’s current coach with the Bandits, Paul Mrazek, believes that Bromley should thrive with the WolfPack.
“I can see Jake in the outfield and that will be an easy adjustment from American Legion to College,” Mrazek said in the release. “Hitting might take a bit longer to adjust to the faster pitching, but shouldn’t take too long as he has quick hands.”
Bromley will be in action with the Bandits this weekend as they play in the ‘Firecracker Tournament’ in Polson, Montana from July 1 to July 4. The tournament is the last exhibition action the team will see before they finish off their regular season.
The Bandits ‘A’ team are currently at 3-5 in conference play, and 10-17-1 overall. They have 12 games remaining from July 7 to 16, before the post-season begins.
NOTES: Despite their recent struggles, two members of the Bandits junior U17 ‘B’ team have been rewarded for their strong play. Brayden Dube and Will Doerksen were both invited by Baseball BC to attend their 2017 Prospects Camp for players from grades 8 to 10. The camp is scheduled to take place in Surrey from July 11 to 13 and players selected will represent Team BC at the PNC Event and Tournament in Washington from August 10 to 13.