Cassidy Brzozowski, the 2014 National Junior College Athletic Association’s (NJCAA) Division III National Player of the Year, will continue her softball career at Coastal Carolina University.
Brzozowski said she wanted to “go down south” for college, and that one visit to the Conway, S.C., campus where she met her future teammates is all it took to sell her on Coastal Carolina.
“I love my teammates,” said the Howell High School graduate, who started classes at Coastal Carolina three weeks ago.
She is majoring in communications with a minor in sports studies.
The outfielder led Brookdale Community College to third place at the NJCAA National Championship this spring. She batted .477 with 17 doubles and six home runs. Her on-base percentage was .535 and her slugging percentage was .742. The ex- Rebel drove in 53 runs and scored 46, as the Jersey Blues went 41-9.
“She had a great season,” said Brookdale’s Hall of Fame head coach, Bo Scannapieco, who also praised the center fielder’s defensive play. “Her defense was stalwart.”
Brzozowski was named the Most Outstanding Defensive Player at the national championship tournament. She was a twotime All-American, including First Team All-America this spring. In her two years at Brookdale, the Jersey Blues won 100 games and had an overall record of 100-14.
“Cassidy had amounted quite a few accolades at the junior college level,” Coastal Carolina head coach Kelley Green said in a college press release. “We are looking forward to seeing her impact here at the next level.”
With her junior college résumé, Brzozowski realizes there is pressure to live up to, and that’s fine with her.
“I feel like the underdog a little,” she said, adding that it is only going to make her work even harder. She’s excited about getting on the field with her teammates for fall ball in a couple of weeks and getting her first taste of college softball at the four-year Division I level.
Playing for Brookdale made her “well prepared” for the next level, she noted.
Brzozowski has been a winner at every level. In high school, she helped Howell win its only NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV championship. At Brookdale, the Jersey Blues were back-to-back Region 19 champions, finishing second (2012) and third (2013) at the national championships.
She will be joining a winning program in Coastal Carolina, which was 41-15 last spring and won the Big South Conference regular season championship.