PORT ORANGE, Fla. — It’s a Saturday morning practice at Spruce Creek High School.  

“Hey Ev, what time you wake up this morning?” Brandon Neely said to his teammate. “I need your routine from start to finish.”

Neely is trying to distract himself from a minute-long plank exercise. It’s not working.

“Has it been a minute yet?” Neely asked.

“That’s how he is,” Spruce Creek head coach Matt Cleveland said about Neely.  “He’s a joy to be around, he’s a great kid, I really like him.”

He’s a comedian at practice, but on the mound he’ll mow you down.

“God blessed him with a great arm,” Cleveland said.  “He also knows how to compete, when he gets on the mound a switch flicks on and he just goes after guys.”

Neely is one of the top senior high school pitching prospects in the country. After he finishes warm-ups and a long toss session he heads to the bullpen. He whistles a quick tune as he takes the rubber.

“See how she goes today,” he said as he fired in a casual fastball.

“He has a good feel for all of his pitches,” junior catcher Henry Dickman said as he threw the ball back to Neely. “He can throw all of his pitches for strikes wherever he wants them at, he just knows how to pitch.”

“I throw a fastball two-seam, four-seam, slider, curveball, change-up,” Neely said. “My fastball ranges about 94-95 miles per hour.  My slider is pretty tight, it gets a lot of swing and misses.”

“He’s got the potential to pitch in front of a lot of people one day and we want to make sure he reaches that potential,” Cleveland said.

Cleveland spent last season on the Miami Hurricanes staff. He is in his first year coaching Spruce Creek, but as the head coach at Hagerty High School, he helped develop Riley Greene, who is now in the Detroit Tigers organization. Neely transferred to Spruce Creek from Seville, FL for his junior year.

“It’s so small, just a blinking light,” Neely said. “There’s no traffic stops, one gas station, little store, a post office, that’s about it.”

Neely came to Spruce Creek to help further his baseball career. The program most recently produced 2020 number nine overall pick Zac Veen.

“[Veen] showed hard work pays off,” Neely said. “He really just showed the team what it’s like to be up there and it motivates you a lot. Makes you want to do big things.”

There are scouts at all of Neely’s outings. His arm helped lead Spruce Creek to the 7A State Championship game, where it lost to Stoneman Douglas. It’s a lot of pressure, but Neely finds relief tapping into his Seville roots.

“Hunting and fishing has always been around me my whole life,” Neely said. 

When he’s not at practice, there’s a good chance you’ll find him in the woods hunting deer or turkey. He also likes to fish the local lakes.

“I like to fish to clear the mind,” Neely said. “I’ve got some good holes no one knows about. Catch some pretty big ones.”

Neely is signed to pitch for the Florida Gators and has already attended orientation. This July he could hear his name called in the MLB draft.

“I have a chance and if not, I wouldn’t mind playing at Florida either,” Neely said.

Neely’s decision is based on what round he’s selected in. He has an advisor to help guide him and his family through the process.  Whether it’s the big leagues or big game, Neely is ready for the hunt.

“I never really cared to play any other sports but baseball,” Neely said. “I just wanted to focus on baseball to hopefully be my career and be my lifestyle.”