Brown gears up for junior season with VCU baseball

Adam Cheek, Staff Writer

Junior utility player Hogan Brown entered his third season with VCU baseball on Feb. 14 in a game against Charlotte after a successful 2019.

Brown primarily patrols center field for the Rams and had a breakout sophomore season, playing in all but four of VCU’s 58 games. He recorded 66 hits, 26 RBI and knocked two pitches over the fence.

The Virginia Beach native got hooked on baseball when he was six or seven years old.

“I started when I was very little,” Brown said. “I played football and basketball too. But when I got to high school, I just started focusing on baseball.”

After a disappointing end to their 39-19 2019 effort that saw the Rams fall early on in the postseason, Brown hopes to make a run at the Atlantic 10 conference championship.

“We know we have a lot of ability, and we’re playing well right now,” Brown said. “I don’t think we’re worried about losing at all anytime soon, not to anybody, and we expect that we’re the better team. And if we play our way, we’ll come out on top.”

With the A-10 tournament months away and Richmond hosting, Brown says the team feels even more confident about the schedule ahead of them.

“You definitely don’t want to lose at your own field, watch another team dogpile there,” he said. “So that’s definitely going to be some extra motivation to win.”

The centerfielder was named to the Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American squad in 2018, also making the A-10 Second Team and All-Rookie Team.

Brown said one of his biggest moments on the field wasn’t necessarily personal – it was a team victory.

“We beat [the University of North Carolina] at their place,” he said. “That was pretty cool. They hadn’t lost there in a while. … That’s probably one of the coolest things we’ve done.”

Brown, who’s majoring in criminal justice, hopes to continue his career after college.

“I hope to continue playing baseball,” he said. “I’d like to play professional baseball, but I’ll leave that up to the baseball gods.”

As for his approach to 2020 and improving on last year, Brown says he takes it pitch by pitch.

“I take it one game one time, one pitch at a time,” he said. “So just always putting in the work and hoping to get some results back, better results.”

Reflecting on his experience two years into his time at VCU, the junior spoke highly of the team and staff.

“It’s been awesome,” Brown said. “I love the team; my teammates are the best. The coaches are awesome. I love our facilities, I love playing at the Diamond, and it’s been a great experience.”