It felt like it was only a matter of time for Jake Brooks.
After helping the Red Deer Braves win provincial and national championships in 2024, the college interest was bound to start hitting an extra gear.
Lauded for his strong fielding and timely hitting, the dependable middle infielder was named the Baseball Alberta Elite League playoff MVP for his efforts, as the team came back from a rocky start to run the table on championship Sunday, winning three games including a 17-5 romp over St. Albert in the final.
The team kept rolling at nationals, going undefeated en route to a 12-2 gold medal game victory over B.C. in the final.
Brooks put the wraps on an unforgettable year by finally signing on the dotted line with Colby Community College.
The 6-foot-1, 175-pound St. Joseph Baseball Academy and Sylvan Lake Gulls 19U Prep product was a guest on Episode #296 of Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast, and we reached back out over Instagram to chat a bit more about his commitment decision.
1. What was it about Colby that made you want to go there?
Being able to talk to Jason Chatwood and Matt Coutney about their experiences at Colby helped me a lot, and they both expressed how they loved it there and wouldn’t change anything. The coach, Ryan Carter, was very easy to talk to and answered all my questions fully and wasn’t a stereotypical intimidating college coach. Our school has also spent the most time there on our college tours, so it felt the most like home out of all the colleges.
2. How excited are you to get down there in 2025?
I’m super-excited to see how it really is, but I’m also very nervous because it will be the first time moving away from home and having to learn how to live by myself. That also adds to the excitement as it will be cool to have a sneak peak into what the rest of my life will look like.
3. Did you think going into the season that you were going to be a part of a championship-winning team?
It’s weird because I’ve played on this team for three years and our first two years, it felt the same. It felt like we were the best in the league and we had a chance and it was our year. But this year, we struggled more towards the start and we actually faced some adversity. I’ve never done that with this team in the past. We’ve always dominated until provincials and as soon as we face something, we’re not used to it.
I think this year, the start of the year especially when we struggled it taught us to stay in it when we weren’t doing too good, which kind of helped us in games at provincials when we were down 3-1 in the seventh inning of the semis and when we’re playing in a quarterfinal when we’re not expecting it. I think our struggles at the start of the year helped us on the Sunday at provincials.
4. In chatting with coach Josh Zanolli earlier on, he said you were a rock star throughout the season. When you look back at it with the big picture in mind, what was working for you?
Defensively, I’ve never really felt like I’ve slumped. Once you get confidence and you keep making plays, it’s hard to lose it. Hitting for me is what’s … when I’m feeling good, it’s like everything and you don’t have to think about it. You almost think about hitting it harder, you swing as hard as you can and you still make good contact.
But once you get struggling, you start thinking about so many things and you try to slow down your swing to make sure that you’re doing it right, then you just never hit it. I think it’s all about confidence for me. When I’m swinging it and trusting my hands on defense, and all the stuff like that is when I’m at my best.
5. What did it mean to you to be named tournament MVP at provincials?
I thought it was cool. We were all obviously celebrating together, but to get an individual shout-out, it was pretty cool. At the start of the tournament, I didn’t hit amazing, but towards the end when it meant something, it was nice to get a few hits and play good defense.
6. You get the final out at nationals. Who were you hugging first?
After we dogpiled, my little brother is the bat boy and he’s running out there, so I went out there and hugged him. Then after we took the picture and stuff, my mom is usually right out there on the side, so I went to her.
7. What did it feel like for you to get those two gold medals?
For provincials and nationals, it was much different. I feel like for provincials, it was excitement and joy and whatever. But for nationals, it was more shock and kind of bittersweet because you know that there’s nothing after that. It’s the last time with your team, but it was still really cool. I wouldn’t have it any other way, obviously.
8. For those young kids starting out on their baseball journey, hoping to get to where you’re at now, what is that one piece of advice or those words of wisdom you like to impact on them?
Honestly, don’t worry about stats or what people think about whether you’re good or not. If you go to each game focused on doing anything you can to make your team win, that’s all you have to do. You can be hitting .200 or .400 to have the same impact.
9. What does the game of baseball mean to you?
It’s … I mean … everything. All my friends are on my team, all my memories are from baseball. I played hockey when I was little but it doesn’t compare to what I’ve done through baseball. The adults that I’ve also met in my life like Zanolli and Chatwood, they’ve shaped me as well. A lot has come with it.
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