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All American Game  | Story  | 8/17/2021

Neal Makes The Leap To The Classic

Blake Dowson     
Photo: Brady Neal (Perfect Game)
Brady Neal made the five-hour move from Tallahassee to Bradenton, Fla. before his sophomore year of high school to attend IMG Academy and play for the Crusader baseball team.
 
Much has been written and said about IMG and the immense amount of talent on that roster year-in and year-out. This year alone, IMG has three Perfect Game All-Americans – No. 1 overall 2022 prospect Elijah Green, No. 6 Jackson Ferris, and Neal, who slots in at No. 52.
 
Neal didn’t exactly expect to be headed to San Diego for the All-American Classic this weekend back when he jumped in the car in Tallahassee and headed to IMG last year. Not because he didn’t think he was talented enough, because he certainly was. It was because at that point, he was a top catcher in the 2023 class, still a year away from eligibility in the All-American.
 
However, after hitting .371 over 62 plate appearances with 22 RBI and nine extra-base hits all while proving to be one of the best backstops in the country regardless of age, Neal made the decision to re-classify into the 2022 class.
 
“I had a good sophomore year at school,” he said. “And it basically gave me the confidence and it proved to people that I can play with those older guys and succeed against those older guys. It really helps my situation the younger I am in the class, so that was a big part of the decision. I really wanted to get to college or go pro, get to my next step, as soon as I could.”
 
Neal said he received help from a host of people when it came time to make that decision – his advisor, his parents, Director of Baseball Dan Simonds at IMG, and the guidance counselors all played a part in making sure he was ready to make the jump, both physically and in the classroom.
 
He also made a call to the LSU coaching staff, wanting to make sure they would have a place for him a year earlier than expected. He was basically told the earlier he could get to campus, the better.
 
At the time, that was Paul Mainieri’s staff. That’s no longer the case, with Jay Johnson replacing Mainieri after his retirement at the conclusion of the 2021 season.
 
The coaching change in Baton Rouge made Neal pause for maybe all of a few seconds, but ultimately doesn’t change a thing about how excited he is to put on the purple and gold.
 
“I took a step back and realized that it was meant to be,” Neal said. “Whatever is meant to be is going to happen. It’s meant to be for me to go and play there. You just have to sit back and let things happen and figure out what you want to do. LSU is where I want to go. I’ve always loved it. I like watching them, I like the tradition, the fans.”
 
It’s easy to see he checks all the necessary boxes to move on to the next level. At 5-foot-10, 180 pounds, Neal moves as athletically as anyone you’ll find behind the plate, and his left-handed stroke at the plate is a smooth one. He has the pedigree of catching some of the more talented staffs around at IMG, as well as his 5 Star teammates.

He's been rostered in 46 PG events now, notably stringing together consecutive all-tournament team performances this summer at the National Elite Championship, Ultimate Baseball Championship, Southeast Elite Championship, Southeast Memorial Day Classic, and the PG High School Showdown, where his IMG squad took home a title. 
 
With that package in tow, Neal now finds himself thrust into the travel schedule of the elite baseball prospect heading into his final year as a prep – PG National, then the Prospect Development Pipeline league, East Coast Pro after that, and finishing up with the All-American Classic in late August.
 
He will be the youngest player in attendance at the Classic, not yet 17 years old when he takes the field at Petco Park in San Diego on August 22.
 
Getting selected to play in the event is an honor, Neal said, and a validation of sorts on his decision to jump into the 2022 class. This is something he has had his mind on since 2015, when North Florida Christian alum and future first rounder Cole Ragans was selected to play in the All-American Classic. North Florida Christian, in Tallahassee, is the school district Neal was in at the time of Ragans’ selection.
 
“Since I re-classed, it really meant a lot [to be selected],” he said. “I worked really hard to get there…It’s definitely been a goal of mine. A kid at my old school [Ragans] was selected when I was in seventh grade, so it’s been a dream of mine since then.”
 
That dream has become a reality, and a year earlier than originally dreamt.
 
Neal will head to San Diego with certain goals for the game – these guys are playing with and against the best prep prospects in the country on national television, they all want to play well – but more than anything, he wants to soak it all in.
 
“There are obviously goals you set for yourself,” he said. “Catch well, get a base hit or two, maybe a double. But really I just want to have fun. There aren’t many opportunities to get to do things like this. So you just relax and do what you know how to do.”
 
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