Living the Dream: G-C standout Brady Mundell is making his hardball aspirations come true

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Greenfield-Central’s Brady Mundell (11) tries to go up for a shot surrounded by a host of New Palestine defenders during their sectional game at Richmond on Feb. 26, 2019. daily reporter file photo

GREENFIELD — The past didn’t merely comeback around for Greenfield-Central’s Brady Mundell. It was delivered via the U.S. Postal Service.

With his right arm in a splint, a few days removed from minor surgery he had done last week to correct a pinched nerve, Mundell received a letter this summer — from himself.

He couldn’t help but laugh when he opened and read it, written more than 10 years ago.

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“I went to St. Michael’s, and I wrote a letter to myself in the first grade. I was around 8 years old, and I wrote that I wanted to play college baseball,” Mundell said. “Now, here I am.”

A graduating high school senior with his baseball and academic futures set at the University of Indianapolis, Mundell isn’t boasting clairvoyance. No winning lottery numbers or predictions warming up in the bullpen, that’s for certain.

Yet, when it comes to having goals, Mundell knows how to line them up and chase them down, and it started at home over the years with his older brothers Tyler and Josh.

“I’ve always looked up to them. We always played baseball outside. I always threw with them growing up. I watched them play high school baseball. I was in fifth or sixth grade when Tyler started, so I went to all the games with my dad,” Mundell reminisced. “I got to play with Josh as a freshman. I dressed some games, and I got to dress on the sectional roster (in 2017), and we won that year.”

Mundell’s passion for baseball stemmed from his older siblings, but it is truly rooted in the bond he has with his father, Joe, who played baseball at Terre Haute South in his youth and faithfully cheers on the Cincinnati Reds.

“(My brothers) didn’t take it as serious as I did. They kind of played for fun, but it was always something they pushed me to be good at,” Mundell said. “They thought I could have a future with it.”

Apparently, so did Brady.

Coming up through the Indiana Bandits, Indiana Elite and Indiana Nitro in the summer months, Mundell was a two-sport athlete in high school, splitting time with basketball.

Despite the grind of competing nearly year round, Mundell wouldn’t change the past four-plus years for anything. Like his dill pickle Bigs sunflower seed addiction, some things are part of the routine for a reason.

“Whenever I played basketball, it helped me get my mind off baseball a little bit. I always tell kids not to specialize. I don’t think it’s good for you, really,” Mundell said. “Every year, I got better and more athletic playing both sports. It was kind of a breath of fresh air with both sports. You never got tired of any of them. I always tell people to play multiple sports.”

On the basketball court, Mundell and his brother, Caleb, who is committed to play soccer at UIndy this fall, helped change the Cougars’ hoops culture under new head coach Luke Meredith this year.

After a 4-20 season under former head coach Lukas Haworth in 2018-19 and 7-16 the year prior, Brady and Caleb were part of the resurgence at Greenfield-Central, which finished 12-12 this season.

“I had three different coaches in four years in basketball. It was pretty tough. My freshman year, we were pretty good, and coach (Michael) Lewis was a good coach. He made me like basketball again, then we had a couple of down years,” Mundell said. “I felt I learned a lot from basketball.

“There were times I wanted to quit, for sure, but my dad wouldn’t let me quit, and thank God he didn’t because it definitely showed me how to lead a team and how to deal with losing.”

It sharpened his mindset in the face of adversity, which made him into a stronger person and competitor.

“It was probably the hardest thing I’ve gone through in my life. Going 4-20 in basketball. All of sudden, every night you’re picked to lose,” Mundell said. “I was glad when coach (Luke) Meredith came. He’s probably the best coach I’ve had. He trusted the seniors, and we had a decent year. Nobody picked us to win 10 games, so I was happy to do that.”

Elation was a byproduct of hard work on the baseball field for Mundell.

In the offseason, he trains with Greg Vogt at PRP Baseball inside the Finch Creek Fieldhouse in Noblesville where he’s increased velocity on his fastball.

The time he spends with Warren Central baseball coach Emmitt Carney, who instructs players in the offseason, helps him analyze the game on a deeper level.

Greenfield-Central’s Harold Gibson, however, supplied Mundell with his greatest asset. A tight, two-seam fastball that Prep Baseball Report has clocked in the mid-80s.

“(Coach Carney) is kind of who changed my game on the mound. We talked about pitching sequences. How to throw different pitches in different counts. He just made me think of pitching in a completely different way,” Mundell said. “I think that’s what I like about (pitching) coach (Landon) Hutchison at UIndy. He kind of reiterates the same things coach Carney says to me.”

Carney’s teachings allowed Mundell to throw 17 1/3 innings as a sophomore at Greenfield-Central with 23 strikeouts and eight walks issued for a 2.42 ERA and a 2-1 record.

But that was only a glimpse of his capability.

“(Coach Gibson) helped me probably more than anyone. He has such a deep background in pitching, and his son (Kyle Gibson) is obviously in the Major Leagues. He taught me grips,” Mundell said. “When he gave me that 2-seam grip that I could be consistent with that just changed my whole pitching experience.”

The results were 53 strikeouts and 16 walks in 35 2/3 innings in relief as a junior for the Cougars. Mundell carried a 3.14 ERA, went 1-1 and posted a .161 batting average against.

As a hitter, Mundell started to find himself with a .294 batting average, 21 runs scored, seven RBI and a perfect 8-for-8 in stolen base attempts for the 2019 sectional championship Cougars.

“He’s really matured into a very good player. He came into his own last year, and I think he’s just beginning to develop as a pitcher,” Greenfield-Central baseball coach Mark Vail said.

“He was very consistent on the mound for us and a good hitter. He was an all-around player for us, and his junior year was a really good season for him. I looked forward to him having an outstanding senior year.”

Mundell and his teammates were hoping for the same until COVID-19 erased their chance at a potential sectional repeat and 15th overall in program history (three in the past seven years).

“I didn’t do a whole lot my freshman year, but I think watching that (sectional win) and seeing how excited the dudes were and being a part of the team, and actually contribute to the team, was something I always wanted to do,” Mundell said.

“(Last year) it was kind of like a weight lifting off your shoulders because we had such a good team, and I always wanted to be a part of it after watching that as a freshman. I was glad I won it this past year, since we didn’t get to play at all this year.”

Projected to be a pitcher at UIndy under head coach Al Ready, Mundell is scheduled to report to campus on Aug. 25, which will give him plenty of time to get ready to either come out of the bullpen or start.

Mundell dealt with a pinched nerve in his throwing arm for quite some time, and he should make a full recovery in less than a month, he emphasized, after Dr. William Kelinman from Indiana Hand to Shoulder Center corrected the issue.

“I’ve known about it for a while. I was going to wait until after season, but since we didn’t have one, I had it done,” Mundell said.

“I noticed I wasn’t as consistent with my velocity (late last year). I was still pitching good, but looking back on it, I think I had all the symptoms my doctor said I would have with it. It all kind of lined up. I was throwing really hard at the beginning of the year, then later in the year, I was kind of worn out.”

Taking it easy for the time being while staying home with his mother, Brenda, and family, Mundell is eyeing a return to the mound with the Indiana Nitro in late July before heading off to where he always wanted to be.

“It was always a goal. When I started playing for the Nitro, the big-level scouting started to happen. It was a shock, but in the back of my head, I knew I could do it,” Mundell said.

“When I played in the summer, I got introduced to coach (Landon) Hutchison, and he’s been really good to me. I took a visit, and I knew UIndy was home. I told my mom, I’m going here mom.”