NCS Junior of the Year
BRAXTON BROWN, BENICIA
There were several talented juniors in the North Coast Section last season, but in the end, the combination of leading her team to
an NCS Division II title and reaching the CIF Northern Regional Division II title game resulted in
Benicia's Braxton Brown being named the Prep2Prep North Coast Section Junior of the Year.
“Thank you. It feels great,” Brown said when told she was being honored. “I am beyond blessed to be recognized as the top
player in the my class in the NCS.”
“The accomplishments I’ve made throughout the season have been amazing,” continued Brown, who was also chosen as the Vallejo
TImes-Herald Player of the Year. “But to still be getting them postseason
are truly a blessing.”
Benicia head coach Kristin Grubbs, who won her first NCS title since coming over from the Sac-Joaquin Section in 2019 - where she
won three championships - has obviously had some good players and teams. But she has the utmost
praise and admiration for Brown.
“That’s awesome. It give me goose bumps,” said Grubbs immediately after being told her star ace was being honored.
“Braxton was definitely a game changer for us. She was our workhorse in the circle and certainly was a huge factor in our
successes during the season and more importantly in the postseason,” Grubbs continued. “She gave
us 110 percent, but also knew we had a great defense behind her, which I think helped her
not feel like she had to do it all on her own. I’m confident in saying that I don't think we
win the NCS title or make it to the NorCal regional finals without her in the circle.”
Brown was 20-4 from the circle with a 2.55 ERA and 143 strikeouts in 145.1 innings, with batters hitting a paltry .204 against her.
At the plate, Brown hit .337, led the Panthers with six home runs, plus she had eight doubles, 23 RBIs and 16 runs scored.
Braxton may be a junior, but because of COVID pretty much wiping out her freshman season, when Benicia went 4-0,
and shortened her sophomore year when they were 9-5, this was her first full season. It was also
her first playoff experience since the playoffs were cancelled here freshman and sophomore years.
Despite that, Grubbs acknowledges her toughness despite lack of experience.
“The way she handled the pressure and stepped in that circle every game is a testament to her grit and determination,” Grubbs said.
“I am so proud of all the work she has put in to becoming the best player possible.”
“She is most definitely a player that will come out next season wanting more,” Grubbs continued. “She's a great kid that would do
anything for her team and we saw that all season long. Sky is the limit for Braxton."
Part of that hard work and desire to get better is recognizing strengths and weaknesses.
“Being able to last during tough games is probably my best asset,” Brown said. “Something I feel I can improve on is getting
rid of the little mistakes.”
Coach Grubbs was a little more analytical.
“Braxton has a great presence in the circle and is an excellent fielding pitcher. She has great range that allows her to get to
balls that other pitchers can't get to,” Grubbs said. “She also swings a big bat. She is a
great all-around player that also happens to be a really good pitcher. She also is a great teammate.
"I think one thing Braxton can approve upon is a high strike percentage throughout the season and also have a little more
crispness to her movement on pitches,” Grubbs continued with respect to areas for improvement.
“A few of the big hits she gave up came on pitches that just didn't move as much as we would have liked.”
Several top producing seniors graduated, but Benicia is still a young team. Is Braxton ready to step up and be a senior leader?
“Yes, I am ready to step up as our seniors move on,” Brown responded. “But I have been blessed to have girls on my high school
team who are self driven to be the greatest they can be, and as an incoming senior I
will just be adding to that.”
With travel ball going on this summer, the hope is that Brown will start to attract colleges’
attention. What would be her dream schools?
“Colleges I would love to see myself at are LSU, Georgia, Texas A&M, and Michigan,” Brown said. “As far as me being on colleges’
radar, I draw attention from college coaches but offers are yet to come.”
Maybe that will start changing for Brown with her being named the Prep2Prep North Coast Section Junior of the Year.
Others considered for the award: Heritage's Alex Cutonilli, San Ramon Valley's Paige McLeod,
American Canyon's Angelia Rodriguez and Vintage's Emily Vanderbilt .
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