Husky third baseman, Brandon Nieva, has loved baseball since he was a child, and particularly that it is a team sport of individuals. Your team can bail you out at times, but when it’s your turn to perform, the pressure is solely on you to make the play. Since joining the Huskies Men's Baseball team in 2018, Nieva has consistently made plays and helped move the program in the right direction. One day he hopes to play baseball at the professional level.
Nieva enrolled at George Brown College in 2018 because it gave him a chance to gain a great education in the Construction Engineering Technology program. He knew the education offered at the college would set him up for success later in life. Funnily enough, he had no intention of playing baseball for the Huskies, at least not until he received a phone call from head coach, AJ Wideman.
“I received a call from AJ and initially didn’t answer the phone because I didn’t recognize the number. I only called back after he texted me to explain that he was the head coach of the baseball team at George Brown. At the time I was content with just focusing on my studies, and playing on the baseball team wasn’t really on my mind,” he explained. “However, the decision I made to join the team was probably one of the best decisions I've ever made for my personal fulfilment. A chance to play and to fall in love with the game all over again was all that was needed to get me to join the team.”
From there, Nieva became an unstoppable force for the Huskies on third base -- the hot corner. He was solid in his freshmen season, batting .295, while amassing 13 hits and seven runs batted in (RBIs) in 14 only games. In 2019 he truly excelled, improving in every offensive category and becoming one of the best hitters in the OCAA. His .364 batting average, 20 hits, three home runs, 15 RBIs, 34 total bases, and .618 slugging percentage each ranked in the Top 10 provincially. He credits the overall Huskies culture for his success on the field.
“I like that there is support in place for every athlete, but no one is pressured to do things they truly don’t want to do. I appreciate how the athletic community provides the athletes with all the tools needed for their success, and how the initiative is on the athlete to take advantage of those tools,” he explained. “This is something I really appreciate because they allow you to be the athlete you truly want to be, and by doing so, give you the opportunity to hold the key to your own success.”
Nieva believes the program is heading in the right direction under head coach Wideman.
“The ceiling for the program is high,” he stated. “The number of talented players looking to stay in the country and not head down south for school is higher than ever. The reputation the school has academically, paired with commitment to grow our athletic influence, should be enough to potentially take control of the OCAA.”
Nieva has the exact same focus in the classroom as he does at the plate. He truly loves the flexibility and options that the Construction Engineering Technology program gives him for life after school.
“The program has a ton of possible career outcomes. I was drawn to it because there wasn’t a right or wrong path to take. You can get into entrepreneurship, project management and project [estimating],” he said. “I liked that when I’m done, I'll have the freedom to pick the area of the industry that I know I'll be happy in. As well, the opportunities the school offers for the students to network are second to none.”
Nieva has made quite a reputation in the baseball world over the last few years, so much so that he was chosen to participate in Toured Europe with The North Baseball Club in 2019. The team travelled to various locations in Europe to play in tournaments, such as Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic. He truly believes that this European experience allowed him to take the next step in his development on the field.
“I don’t think I could have dreamed of a better trip. From the off-field side of things, it was simply incredible to experience different cultures with such a great group of guys. From a baseball point of view, the trip gave me a new spark and only made me fall in love with the game even more,” he explained. “I owe that trip everything for how it helped me open my mind to how I should be playing; happy, motivated, on edge, knowing that mistakes will happen but not being timid by that fact, and when a mistake is made, take it on the chin and move on. A ton of success I've had on the field since then can be accredited to being given the opportunity to be on that trip.”
If there is a baseball season this summer, Nieva will play for the Hamilton Cardinals in the Intercountry Baseball League. His love for the game has been reignited over the last two years, and grown into a goal of playing professionally one day.
“I’ve given myself the goal of playing professionally. I know that all I can control is how hard I work and the determination and respect I show the game each day. From there, I’ll let my actions on the field speak for themselves [and] take me wherever this game wants to take me,” he explained. “Walking away from the game isn’t in the cards, and I’m going to ride this out as long as the game will let me.”
For more information on George Brown College Men's Baseball and upcoming tryouts, contact Mark Couch at Mark.Couch@georgebrown.ca
