COLLEGE BASEBALL: SAYRE GRAD HORTON RIDES TRANSFER PORTAL TO OKLAHOMA AND THE SEC (2024-07-20)

By TIM BIRNEY
Valley Sports Report
SAYRE — Sayre grad Brayden Horton recently entered the transfer portal as a Liberty University Flame, and landed in Boomer Sooner Land as a member of the University of Oklahoma baseball team.

Horton said the process began when Liberty head coach Scott Jackson resigned to take a position on the North Carolina coaching staff.

“Liberty will always have a very special place in my heart. I thought it was going to be my home for four years, but our head coach Scott Jackson left, and that opened the door for several of the returners to hop in the portal and see what our options were.

“We still had a fairly safe spot at Liberty if we liked the new coach, and wanted to come back,” noted Horton. “Throughout the week, I talked to the new coach after he was hired, and I took some calls from other schools to see if there was a better fit out there.

“I heard from some interesting schools, and Oklahoma was one of them,” said Horton. “I talked to them for a few days, and as the process wore on, they showed more and more interest.

“They said all the right things. They have a faith-based coaching staff, they have an incredibly good development program for hitters, and obviously it’s a move to the SEC — it was just an incredible fit,” continued Horton.

“Oklahoma said they needed a bat, someone who could come into the SEC and put up decent numbers. I fully trust the Oklahoma coaching staff will be able to develop me, and get me to the next level.

“And financially, things worked out there, too,” added Horton. “Unfortunately, I had to move on from Liberty ... I felt God leading me to Oklahoma. It was an offer I couldn’t turn down.”

Horton said he was headed in another direction before hearing from Oklahoma.

“I got an offer from ECU (East Carolina),” he said. “It was a very tempting offer. Honestly, I was probably within a day of going there, but then the Oklahoma opportunity came up and I couldn’t turn down SEC baseball — it was just the opportunity of a lifetime.”

Horton never envisioned playing in the SEC.

“I was talking about that this week with my parents,” he said. “If I could go back and tell my 16- and 17-year-old self that I’d be playing at Oklahoma in a couple years, I don’t think I would have believed it.

“It’s just a crazy opportunity, and an absolute blessing that I welcome with open arms,” he added.

Horton, who has two seasons of eligibility remaining, hit .274 with an on-base percentage of .403 to go with 11 home runs and 39 RBI last season.

In 2023, as a true freshman, Horton put up impressive numbers right out of high school hitting at a .341 clip with an on-base percentage of .471 to pair with six home runs and 40 RBI.

In the last two years, Horton has played in 100 total games and made 90 starts.

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ALL THINGS BASEBALL WITH BRAYDEN HORTON ...

Q: What were the biggest challenges in transitioning from high school baseball at Sayre in the NTL to Division I baseball?

A: “There are two things — the mental aspect of the game, and being consistent.

“It’s tough to be consistent at this level, because you’re always facing top-notch pitching. I just try to stay level-headed, and not get too wrapped up in the ups-and-downs of baseball. That was the hardest part, I struggled a little bit mentally last year, and had a lot of ups-and-downs.

Q: You had a red-hot streak during the middle of this season, and cooled off at the end. How do you explain that?

A: “During the middle of the season, I was very level-headed, I didn’t let the hot streak get to me. I knew that’s what I’m capable of.


Q: Is it true, being a left-handed hitter is an advantage?

A: “Hitting left-handed definitely helps. I’ve heard throughout this entire process, everyone from college coaches to pro scouts say, ‘it’s great to be a lefty-hitting catcher.”

“Nowadays I think you see more of them, but I’ve been told that was the best way to come up though the system.

“It also helps being in parks that are hitter-friendly. I’d say most parks are a little more hitter-friendly to lefty hitters than righty hitters, so that helps, too.”

Q: You saw quite a bit of ACC pitching in your non-league schedule with Liberty. Does that help heading into the SEC?

A: “Seeing how some of the coaches in the ACC approached me early this season gave me a lot of confidence.

“As a freshman, they pitched me as if I wasn’t a threat, so I was able to look for fastballs.

“This year, they were working more off-speed in, and being more meticulous about how they were calling pitches; that gives you confidence, knowing they’re not confident to just throw the ball over the plate and let their fielder’s do the work.

“If you see an ACC school pitch you like that, it instills some confidence. It makes it tougher, but it makes me feel confident to play high-level Division I.”

Q: What are your thoughts on facing SEC pitching day-in and day-out?

A: “I think it will be a good challenge, I welcome it.

“Throughout my travel ball career, and in the NTL when we faced guys like (Wyalusing's Blake) Morningstar (now pitching at Wake Forest) … or when I hit live BP off my cousin Luke (Horton), I welcomed challenges like that.



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