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NEDERLAND — It felt “great” for Brady Corcoran this week when he connected to his lifelong dream of playing baseball at the college level, especially Division 1.

The 18-year-old Nederland High student-athlete signed a letter of intent Wednesday to play baseball next school year at McNeese State University.

“I was thinking back to when I first started, thinking back to when I would go to Lamar baseball games, and say, ‘those guys are so good. I wish I could be like them.’ It’s crazy to think I will be one of those guys. I will be a D-1 baseball player,” Corcoran said.

The high school senior shared that he started to get super serious about baseball as a ticket to college when he was in the ninth grade.

He’s always been a hard worker but that meant working out more and devoting a lot of time to the sport.

Corcoran said not many people in his family played sports growing up but that didn’t stop him from getting a baseball as a younger kid and falling in love with the game by throwing the ball around despite being able to barely walk.

Now that he is headed to a college baseball career, he sees a role for himself as a freshman relief pitcher.

“I am working on throwing faster,” Corcoran said. “Of course, my command could always be better. Velocity is the one thing that can be improved a lot. I think the role they have for me is being a guy who comes out of the bullpen and can get a couple of innings in for them in a long game.”

Family is a big part of Corcoran’s life, so he said it’s nice that he can stay close to them at McNeese State, which is down the road in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

“I have a big support system, so it is nice that they get to come and watch me live out my dreams,” he said.

He also enjoys the gameday vibes.

“I went to one of the games this year and was really impressed with the atmosphere,” Corcoran said. “They have really great coaches and have recently put out some guys who have been drafted. It’s really intriguing because they develop players real well.”

However, college is still a year away, meaning there is a senior season of high school competition on the horizon.

“Last year we fell short,” Corcoran said. “I was hurt and didn’t get to play my whole junior season. Honestly, this year, we have some good freshman coming up and our returners are really good. I am very interested to see how we are going to do. My goal is a district championship and a deep playoff run.”

Corcoran said the fastest he has ever been clocked on the mound is 86 mph.

His favorite team to play against is Port Neches-Groves and his favorite teammate is Ayden Sunday.

His favorite player in Major League Baseball is Clayton Kershaw, and he hopes the Boston Red Sox win the 2024 World Series.

Yet, he has his eyes set on another organization when it comes to emulation.

“I try to mimic my mechanics like Spencer Strider in the Braves organization,” Corcoran said. “He has very good mechanics, so I try to mimic him a lot, even though he is right handed.”