McHenry, MD – After hitting .238 for Palm Beach State College in 2023 and sitting out the 2024 season, there wasn’t a very robust market for Brandyn Gonzalez.
“Coach Hallenbeck was the only coach to give me an opportunity,” recalled Gonzalez, who came to Garrett College last fall at the behest of Lakers head coach Eric Hallenbeck.
There are now probably plenty of coaches who wished they had actively recruited the Miramar, Florida native.
Gonzalez, who terrorized Region 20 pitchers all season long, has been named to the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II All-American first team. He’s the third Laker to be named a first-team All-American in baseball, joining Mick Bayle (1990 and 1991) and Ryan Krumlauf (2010).
“Honestly, it’s crazy – I didn’t really think about it,” Gonzalez said of being named a first-team all-American. “I was just having fun, enjoying playing.”
“He’s just a tremendous person – very humble and a great student,” Hallenbeck said of Gonzalez, who graduated last month from Garrett College with a 3.42 grade-point average.
The All-American selection caps a season in which Gonzalez won the NJCAA Division II Region 20 Triple Crown. He hit .431 with a school-record 20 homers and 80 RBI while also leading the region in slugging percentage (.879).
Gonzalez also finished in the top five in Region 20 in runs (66), hits (75), doubles (16), and on-base percentage (.521).
Gonzalez finished with only 84 at bats, homering twice and driving in 10 runs, for Palm Beach State in 2023. He sat out 2024 after becoming a father, but decided to try to restart his baseball career last summer.
That’s where a key Laker connection came into play.
“He [Gonzalez] was friends with our catcher, Jonathan Padgett,” recalled Hallenbeck. “Last August, Brandyn contacted me and decided to give it another shot.”
Gonzalez missed the fall season with a lingering hand injury, but didn’t look a bit rusty once the 2025 campaign started. He batted .500 (9-for-18) with four home runs, 10 RBI, and 10 runs scored over the first six games of the season, including titanic homers in consecutive at bats at CCBC-Catonsville in the second game of the season.
“We always thought he could swing the stick, but when he hit that first, opposite-field home run against Catonsville, I thought, ‘Hey, we may have something here,’ ” said Hallenbeck.
Hallenbeck indicated Gonzalez’s dramatic offensive improvement came from simply harnessing his immense potential this season.
“You could see that physically he had all the tools,” said Hallenbeck. “I think what helped him was just slowing the game down. We talk a lot about the mental approach to hitting – thinking ahead of the pitcher and what he’s going to throw you.”
Gonzalez agreed.
“I think just letting the game come to me and not trying to force anything was a big reason,” Gonzalez said of his impressive sophomore season. “I was just trying to enjoy the present and not do too much.”
Gonzalez also enjoyed the collective success of the Lakers, whose record-setting season was cut short after a brief playoff run.
“We fell off a little bit towards the end,” Gonzalez said. “Honestly, though, we had a phenomenal season.”
Gonzalez just committed last week to Georgia Gwinnett College, which is coming off a 56-7 season in which the Grizzlies reached the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) World Series semifinals. Five Grizzlies were NAIA All-Americans, including four seniors.
Gonzalez’s commitment to Georgia Gwinnett is contingent on him not turning pro. He attended a pre-draft invitational workout with the Kansas City Royals two weeks ago.
“There is the possibility he will get drafted,” said Hallenbeck. The 2025 draft is scheduled to take place July 13-14 in Atlanta.
“It would be crazy to be able to start my life and be a professional – an amazing opportunity,” Gonzalez said of the possibility of being drafted.
Based on his Garrett College experience, Gonzalez knows how to make the best of any opportunity.
