UVU fortunate to have Brinkerhoff
The numbers speak for themselves.
As a freshman at Utah Valley University, Jace Brinkerhoff hit .371 and was named to the Ping! Freshman All-American first team.
As a sophomore, he was second on the team in hitting with a .328 batting average, led the team with eight home runs and had a team-high 45 RBI.
Last year as a junior, his .433 batting average was seventh best in the country and he set a school record in hits with 92.
Now as a senior, Brinkerhoff is doing it again. In Saturday’s 23-9 win over Southern Utah, he went 3-for-5 with a home run to raise his batting average to .420. He now leads the team in home runs with six and is second in RBI with 27 in 22 games.
Another year, another statistical success.
But the numbers don’t tell Jace Brinkerhoff’s story.
They never have. They never will.
There are no stats that measure heart. No ERA formula that can measure desire. No spreadsheet that can track a love for the game. Brinkerhoff means so much more to a team than what he does when he steps into the batter’s box.
“Jace is really what our program is about,” said UVU coach Eric Madsen. “He lives and breaths when we win and lose. Everything matters to him. He’s a very good hitter, obviously, but he does everything you ask of him. He works extremely hard. He cares about this program probably more than anyone I’ve been around. Our seniors care about it, but Jace really, really, lives and dies with the program.”
In his time at UVU, Brinkerhoff has left an impression on those who are most vested in the baseball program. Former coach Steve Gardner had Brinkerhoff for two years before he retired.
“He’s a competitor and has a win-at-all-cost attitude, that’s why he was such a good man to have as a closer. He had the aggressive mentality that he wasn’t going to be defeated,” Gardner said. “He was a very good team leader. He always talked up the game and was always in the game. You never had to tell him to get going. He was a self motivator. I would say he would be in the top five players I’ve every coached.”
High praise considering Gardner coached at Utah Valley for 18 years and watched players like Mitch Jones (in the Atlanta Braves system), Chris Hunter, Ronnie Branin, and Kam Mickolio (currently with the Baltimore Orioles) but it’s not surprising.
Brinkerhoff’s teammates share similar opinions.
“He’s been great. He’s one of our most consistent guys. He always comes through in the clutch or starts things off for us,” said junior Chris Benson. “He’s probably the most vocal guy on the team on and off the field. I know he gets good grades. He just sets a good example all-around.”
Even one of his former rivals has come around. Former Springville pitcher Brian Whatcott has gotten to know Brinkerhoff now as a teammate.
“I didn’t know him very well before he hit a double off me at Sunshine (tournament) when I was a sophomore so I remember him from that. Other than that I can’t say a bad thing about him,” Whatcott said. “Jace is just a hard worker. I don’t think you can find anyone who works harder than Jace. He’s always doing extra. Even when he was hurt and had his shoulder surgery, he was still at the gym everyday with us riding the bike or doing what he could do. He’s a great leader.”
It was Brinkerhoff’s competitiveness that eventually landed him on the six-month DL. Brinkerhoff was dealt an awful hand in the off-season. It was like life was dealing him a hand from the bottom of the deck.
It was none-of-a-kind in poker. For a guy who played third base and was hoping to pitch, it was a 15 in blackjack.
He tore his labrum, the muscle in his throwing shoulder.
“I went into get it (shoulder) scoped to see what was wrong and they saw a tear and fixed it while in there. It was six months before I could throw. I broke my left arm and had major surgery in high school, but this (labrum) was the most painful thing than anything I’ve been through,” Brinkerhoff said. “It’s a work in progress. It’s getting stronger. It’s still not to where I’d like it to be. I can’t remember what it feels like to throw being healthy, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I wanted to be a part of everything, trying to give my team the best chance to win. I got an opportunity to play third, something I really wanted to do.”
Surgery left him in a sling that kept him from throwing for six months, but there he was at Gold’s gym, looking on with envy and anger. He saw what other people were able to do which only made him more determined to be ready to go when he was cleared to throw. Brinkerhoff would work his legs, do any exercises he could.
Major surgery was nothing more than going 0-for-4 at the plate. He knew there would be another day, another chance to get in his hacks.
“He’s a special player. For him to comeback from his injury the way he has and get over that has been awesome to see,” Madsen said. “That’s a major surgery and to be back and doing what he’s doing this quick just tells you what type of kid Jace Brinkerhoff is.”
No one knows that better than Austin Heaps, who is Brinkerhoff’s roommate. Heaps and several of his teammates regularly spent hours a day in the summer working out and preparing for the season.
“He’s competitive in school work. He’s always saying “I’ve got to get an A. He’s one of those guys who can be intense, but he’s a softy. He has a good heart and is nice to everybody,” Heaps said. “He’ll always try to take it into his own hands, whatever he can do. Everyone looks up to him. He’s very knowledgeable about the game. He’s not just some guy who’s worried about himself. He’s worried about the club. He cares about each one of us and wants us to do well. He picks people up and gets on people when he needs to, but its never in a way to put you down and make you miserable.”
But senior or not. Good leader or not. No matter how successful a player is on and off the field, it does not make you exempt from having your teammates tell stories about you.
“He’s going to hate me for this, but I’ll tell you anyway. We are always making fun of each other about eating,” Heaps said. “One day we were in the apartment. He’s always got the bathroom door open. He was taking a shower, so we walk in there and he’s taking a shower eating a piece of pizza. Everyone was getting on him about that one.”
A piece of pizza in the shower?
Brinkerhoff has learned to laugh at himself. He can be fun. He can smile, it’s just hard to tell sometimes, especially when UVU is coming off a tough loss.
He is easy to read. Medusa’s eyes have nothing on Brinkerhoff. Everything turns to stone when he loses.
“I try to learn to not really let it affect my personal life and family but it’s tough, they know how much I hate to lose,” Brinkerhoff said. “I love the game of baseball and want to win more than anything for the team, but other things like family and friends are important and I don’t want that to get in the way of it.”
Part of Brinkerhoff’s problem is that this losing stuff is fairly new to him. In high school, Brinkerhoff won the 5A State MVP after leading Spanish Fork to a 5A State Championship in 2006. He was an All-State player in both his junior and senior years. As a senior he went 9-2 with a 2.23 ERA as a senior and hit .515. He was also an All-Region basketball player and was (honored) Academic All-State in baseball.
“This is the first year we really had a conference championship to play for thus far so I would say winning the state title with buddies in high school has been the highlight of my career,” Brinkerhoff said. “We had been playing together for so long and one of my teammates, best friends passed away, so it meant a lot to all of us.”
Despite his high school success, Brinkerhoff had just two scholarship offers. One from Salt Lake Community College and one from UVU.
“I was pleased with my decision to go to UV. I’m thankful to have the opportunity to play for UV and have the coaches and teammates I have had,” Brinkerhoff said. “It’s been the best four years of my life. I love playing for Eric (Madsen). I can’t say enough good things about what he’s taught me about baseball and life. He’ll get some national recognition out of the program. He and (assistant coach) Dave (Carter) have done a great job. You watch Utah Valley will be an elite program here in the next little while.”
That is if UV’s coaching staff can find a few more players like Brinkerhoff.