In 2020, amidst the Coronavirus pandemic, Boise State’s Division I baseball team was discontinued due to budget cuts in the athletic department. The discontinuation of the team led to the school’s club team being the face of baseball for Boise State.
Fast forward to 2024 and the Boise State club baseball team is dominating, playing in the National Club Baseball Association (NCBA). The Broncos ended their 2023-2024 season with an impressive 16-7 record (11-4 in conference) and ended their season with a program best #11 rank in the Rawlings Top 20 Poll.
Despite this historic feat for the program, the team has its eyes set on something bigger.
“We are obviously looking to build on that,” first baseman Wyatt Brimhall said. “We’re looking to win our regionals this year in order to go to the World Series [NCBA] … I feel like that’s the end goal, to make it to the World Series and win it.”
The Broncos have recently fallen short of playing in the world series, losing in the regionals in back to back years.
“Obviously getting past that point of losing regionals, last year and the year before is a major stepping stone that I think we can achieve,” Brimhall continued. “First focusing and winning regionals, then going to the World Series and winning.”
With their recent success, including Boise State joining the PAC-12, the club baseball team could potentially see themselves upgrading to the NCAA level. Though it is out of the players control for this decision, the team is still focused on building and growing the program.
“I’ve been here for the last two seasons,” Brimhall said. “And this season we have had the most new guys come out. We have almost 30 guys on the roster, compared to years before where we had around 20. Everybody loves baseball as a sport, so why not add it (the team to Division I) eventually.”
There are many factors for a team to get upgraded to the Division I level that do not include team success, such as funding and fan support.
“It’s just like any sport. It’s just like going to a basketball game. It’s just like going to a football game,” Brimhall said. “The energy that the crowd brings means absolutely everything to us. The other teams in the league are not used to crowd support, so when we have a crowd behind our back, it means the world to us.”
Just like all sports, having crowd support can change the dynamic of how a team plays. Having a fan atmosphere at sporting events doesn’t just show on the win/lose column, but can also help a team and program grow. With the growth that the Boise State Club Baseball team has seen, is it possible to see the Broncos return to the pitch?
The Broncos have already begun their fall season, starting the season off beating the University of Idaho Vandals three straight times. They hope to continue their strong start to the season, hosting the Washington State University Cougars on Oct. 12 and 13.
With the pressure of possible promotion looming, the team is ready to compete at a high level, as they have done in recent years.
“We’re trying to show the school that baseball can be a thing that can be brought back to Boise State,” Brimhall said. “And hopefully it can be something that stays at Boise State.”
