WSU baseball has a new first baseman/outfielder in Sam Brown.

Brown is from Petaluma, California where he played baseball at Petaluma High School.

In high school, Brown was a four-time varsity letterman as well as a three-time All-Valley League Valley League player. 

Brown first attended college at University of Portland. He played two seasons for the Pilots. As a freshman, Brown had the second-highest batting average on the team with an average of .315. He also had five home runs and was named to the All-West Coast Conference Freshman Team and Second Team for the entire Conference.

His sophomore campaign saw Brown appear in 51 games where he had a batting average of .247 with six home runs. In West Coast Conference play Brown hit .279 with a team-leading five home runs in WCC play. Brown had a career-high four RBI in a game against Loyola Marymount in the 2022 season.

After his second season with Portland, Brown looked for more opportunities to play at a higher level. 

“I was looking for bigger opportunities. Portland was small, just not the right fit for me,” Brown said. 

Brown talked about the transition from a West Coast Conference Team to a Pac-12 team and the likeness that both programs go through on a daily basis. 

“They’re similar and different,” Brown said. “We do different stuff, weights Monday, Wednesday and Friday.” 

Being the new guy on a team is never easy, especially coming off a freshman year at Portland where Brown had major success. 

He had a bit of an off-season during his sophomore campaign, but still produced to the point where he sought bigger opportunities from schools such as WSU. The Cougs seem like the perfect fit for Brown so far.

“I knew a lot of the players already, I talked with [head coach Brian] Green. I liked the way the program was, I decided it was the place I wanted to go,” Brown said. 

As a first baseman/outfielder Brown has opportunities to produce every game at multiple positions. His freshman  year showed that he knows how to hit the baseball effectively and often and he can play defense as well, making him a versatile two-way player. The biggest thing that Brown can bring to the Cougs in his first year with the team is his leadership. 

Coming into the team as a junior, Brown has played collegiate baseball at a high level for two years now, so he understands the speed and pace of the game.

“As a player, I bring leadership, determination, inspiration and just being a team-oriented person,” Brown said.

Look for Brown and the Cougs to start their season Friday as they head to Peoria, Arizona to take on the Villanova Wildcats and UC Riverside Highlanders for four games in three days.