Change in coaching staff sends Sam Brown to Portland

A change in coaching staffs brought about a change in plans for Petaluma High School senior Sam Brown.

Brown, a power-hitting first baseman for Petaluma’s Trojans, will continue his coronavirus-interrupted baseball career at the University of Portland. He had originally planned to attend Santa Clara University, but when the school changed coaching staffs, Brown changed his college plans.

Portland coaches had watched the Petaluman play in a couple of summer tournaments, liked what they saw, and when they found out he had decided not to play at Santa Clara, made him an offer.

“Everybody was welcoming and seemed concerned about me,” he said. “I saw what they were doing with the baseball program and I liked what they offered academically.”

The University of Portland is a private Catholic university located on a bluff overlooking the Willamette River. Recognized for its academics, it was rated No. 2 in the Regional Universities - West classification by US News & World Report. Brown was especially impressed with its 12-to-1 student-to-teacher ratio.

The Petaluman will initially major in sociology with plans to pursue a career in the FBI.

A Division 1 school, Portland had a 12-4 baseball record when its season was halted by the coronavirus pandemic. It is a member of the West Coast Conference.

A power-hitting first baseman at Petaluma High, Brown can also play the outfield. He is hoping his versatility and his left-handed bat will help him land a spot in the Pilots’ lineup.

He said he is not overly upset that his high school season is over, but he is disappointed that he couldn’t complete what he anticipated would be a breakout season where he put everything together.

As a junior last year, he batted .316, with nine of his 24 hits going for extra bases, including four home runs. He came on strong toward the end of the season and was looking forward to a big year to round out his four-year varsity career.

He has a strong arm, with good speed on his left-handed deliveries, and he noted that the Portland coaches indicated he might get a look as a pitcher.

Brown started playing baseball when he was about 5 years old in the Mark West Little League and, when the family moved to Petaluma, continued in travel baseball.

He was a starter for the Petaluma High baseball team as a freshman and played three seasons and four games as a Trojan mainstay.

A gifted all-around athlete, he played football and basketball until he tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Fully recovered in time for his freshman baseball season, he played baseball and soccer until his junior year when he went out for basketball. Despite his lack of experience, he was starting games by the end of the season.

But, it was always baseball first. “As a child I always looked to baseball as my path,” he said. “I always looked to take the next step.”

Before the family moved to Petaluma, Brown grew up in Windsor playing with and against Andrew Vaughn, who was the third overall pick in the 2019 MLB draft. “Playing with him helped a lot,” Brown said.

The senior noted that his Petaluma High coaches, Jim Selvitella and Jeff Inglin, helped him as he developed as a baseball player.

Brown continues to take hitting lessons from former Casa Grande star and Minor League and Independent League professional Joey Gomes, who now manages and runs the Healdsburg Prune Packers independent team. “Joey basically helped me become the player I am,” he said. “He has a very high baseball IQ.”

Brown’s brother, Joe, is following in his older sibling’s footsteps, starting for the Trojans last year as a freshman and taking over as first-string catcher this year. A highlight for both came when they hit back-to-back home runs against Maria Carrillo in one of four games Petaluma won before the Trojans’ season was shut down.

“I loved every minute of playing with Joe,” Sam Brown said. “We’re pretty close. We were looking forward to having a big season together.”

With that big season now halted, Brown is trying his best to stay in shape by running and hiking. He and Joe also like to fish and try to get to local spots as often as the new social-distancing rules allow.

Selvitella took over the Petaluma baseball program in Brown’s freshman season and had no qualms about starting him as a ninth grader.

“He was a mature player from Day 1,” Selvitella said. “You wouldn’t have seen any difference between him as a freshman and the senior players.

“I cannot speak highly enough about him as a player and as a student.”

Brown is the son of Billy and Deana Brown. In addition to Joe, he has an older brother, Billy, now 21.