TAMPA, Fla. – Marcus Brodil sat in the third base dugout at USF Baseball Stadium on Tuesday afternoon and thoughtfully and articulately answered a reporter’s questions. He also answered in a rather quiet manner, which is in contrast to what the Dunedin native has accomplished during his four years at USF. Indeed, to use a well-worn idiom, Brodil’s academic and athletic career speaks volumes.
“It’s amazing,” he said, in reflecting on his career. “It has been a great opportunity to play 40 minutes to an hour from home and I am very grateful for it. I love it here.”
His love for the university extends off the field and includes experiences that altered his academic path. He and teammate Jackson Mayo, another four-year member of the USF baseball program, rode along on a few occasions with a Hillsborough County undercover narcotics detective. The arrangement was through the athletic department’s Enhancing U program which, among other features, pairs student-athletes with mentors within their field of study.
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“I really like the undercover part of it, the private investigating aspect,”
said Brodil, who switched majors from business to criminology and will receive his bachelor’s in the latter early next month. “It was something that I was curious about. We rode around with him and he showed us what it would be like to be an undercover narcotics cop. I switched my major and I have loved (criminology).”
None of this would have been possible without the unwavering support of his mother. Indeed, Brodil credits her for, well, just about everything. Rory Brodil, who has supervised beach cleanups and other projects for the city of Clearwater, has been there for her son every step of the way.
“My mom has always done a lot for me,” said Brodil, who is one of three siblings. “I do everything for her. She supports me and I support her and what she does at work with her 60-plus hour weeks. I love her and what she has done for me.”
On-Base Machine
Brodil has the number 42 tattooed on his right arm in honor of Jackie Robinson, who MLB celebrates every April 15, the day he broke the color barrier in 1947. Mookie Betts, Aaron Judge, Jarren Duran and Jazz Chisholm are current players Brodil admires.
“I love their style of play, the way they play the game, how hard they play the game,” he said.
USF fans likely appreciate Brodil’s style of play. The corner outfielder, who hit .319 a year ago, heads into this weekend’s series at Wichita State eighth in the American with a .355 batting average and seventh with a .491 on-base percentage. As a team, the Bulls are hitting .283 to place third in the 10-team conference.
READ: USF’s Paige Pagano Turns To Music, Poetry When Not Turning Back Opponents
“Petey and Cates have helped all of us a lot this year,” he said, in a nod to assistant coaches Bryan Peters, who played two seasons (1995-96) at USF under Eddie Cardieri, and Chris Cates, in his second stint (also 2015-19) as a coach with the Bulls. “We kind of go off what they say. They are always doing their best to make us better. They help us a lot in the cages.”
Brodil feels the team has been helping itself this year. Notably, the Bulls (22-16/10-5 AAC) have been creating their breaks instead of waiting for breaks that may not come.
“I feel at this point in the season, if we lose it would be because we beat ourselves,” he said. “I feel like we have what it takes to be (an NCAA) regional team, but we have to keep the mindset of coming here every day and grinding and getting on top of what we have to do to win games.”
Regardless of how far the Bulls may or may not go, Brodil’s final season at USF is one he has very much enjoyed.
“It has been amazing,” he said. “There is nothing better than coming out here and winning with your boys. We can have our fun and whatnot, but at the end of the day we want to win and do whatever it takes to win.”
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