Getting To Know Brandon Leitgeb
February 05, 2018 | Baseball
With the 2018 baseball season rapidly approaching it is time to take a look at and meet some of the new faces that will be on the Washington Baseball roster. Over the next several weeks GoHuskies.com will introduce the 14 newest Huskies. Featured today is infielder Brandon Leitgeb.
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GoHuskies.com: Talk about what it was like growing up a Husky fan in Portland.
Brandon Leitgeb: I have grown up a Husky my whole life. It is tougher in Portland just because it's Duck country down there. Growing up I took a lot of stuff for being a Husky fan just because of the rivalry and that was at the prime for Oregon football, and the descent of our football. It was definitely tougher to be a fan but one of my best friends was also from a Husky family so it was fun to be with him. At the end of my high school career we started to get good and then I committed here and it all went uphill.
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GH.com: What was it like telling your dad, Brian, who played golf at UW, that you were going to be a Husky?
BL: He was actually in the meeting with me with coach Meggs. It was kind of a surreal moment and everything was in slow motion because it had been a dream of mine for so long but I also knew it was a dream of his. He didn't push me to go here at all, but it's cool to have this extra connection because he's been through this whole system, through the business school, so it's nice to have him as a support system because he's been through it all.
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GH.com: What are some of your earliest memories from being a Husky fan?
BL: We came up to at least three games a year. Some of the earliest memories were being in the stands with my dad screaming "Touchdown Huskies" and having the horn go off. As I got older we started to come to some baseball games right as the stadium was being built and that was really cool to see the new stadium and the new football stadium. It was a really cool family connection.
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GH.com: How's baseball going for you at UW?
BL: It's going well, I love the team so much; it's the closest I have ever felt to my teammates. Not just because I'm living with them and around them all the time, but this is the closest I've been as brothers with my teammates. It's awesome to have a great support system. And then the baseball side is going well too. It kicked me in the butt at first but I think I'm getting the hang of it and I know what I need to do to get better.
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GH.com: What do you need to do to get into the mix?
BL: I need to be one of the better, if not the best, defenders at first base. I'm in a tough competition, there are some really good first baseman on this team that I'm competing with. I also need to become more consistent with my swing. I'm able to make some pretty good swings but it's the inconsistency that's my biggest nightmare right now.
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GH.com: What would you say your biggest strengths are?
BL: As a fielder my footwork, not necessarily my quickness but my footwork is good, and my arm strength as a first baseman because in high school I played third base so I have the arm strength of a third baseman at first base. Hitting-wise, being able to use both sides of the field. In high school my coaches preached big time middle-away, similar philosophy to coach Meggs, so I think that's helped me out here.
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GH.com: When you're not playing baseball what do you like to do with yourself?
BL: I like to play some video games but mainly just hang out with my friends because they're my brothers and as long as I'm with them I'm laughing and having fun.
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GH.com: What's your video game of choice right now?
BL: Right now it's got to be Fortnite, the whole new craze. You can play with three other people among yourself so we've got a few guys on the team that'll go home at nights and we'll all play together and try to get some wins.
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GH.com: Did you play other sports besides baseball growing up?
BL: I did, I played football and basketball growing up. In high school I was an all-state football player and I had the opportunity to play college football. Ultimately when it came down to this decision for me it came down to the fact that I loved practicing baseball and football practice is something that I dreaded going to every day. Even though the games are some of the most fun things you'll ever do, it was that mindset that helped me decide. I played tight end and linebacker, and I liked defense more just because we ran the Wing-T offense, so I was mostly blocking. When I caught the ball it was usually a touchdown but it was mostly blocking for my running backs. On defense I had the freedom to move around and blitz when I wanted to and my coach trusted me with that freedom.
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GH.com: What schools could you have gone to for football?
BL: I was talking to a few Division-III California schools and then a few Ivy League schools and Georgetown in D.C. I was about to go on a visit there, and then I talked to coach Meggs, committed here and gave them a call to let them know.
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GoHuskies.com: Talk about what it was like growing up a Husky fan in Portland.
Brandon Leitgeb: I have grown up a Husky my whole life. It is tougher in Portland just because it's Duck country down there. Growing up I took a lot of stuff for being a Husky fan just because of the rivalry and that was at the prime for Oregon football, and the descent of our football. It was definitely tougher to be a fan but one of my best friends was also from a Husky family so it was fun to be with him. At the end of my high school career we started to get good and then I committed here and it all went uphill.
Β
GH.com: What was it like telling your dad, Brian, who played golf at UW, that you were going to be a Husky?
BL: He was actually in the meeting with me with coach Meggs. It was kind of a surreal moment and everything was in slow motion because it had been a dream of mine for so long but I also knew it was a dream of his. He didn't push me to go here at all, but it's cool to have this extra connection because he's been through this whole system, through the business school, so it's nice to have him as a support system because he's been through it all.
Β
GH.com: What are some of your earliest memories from being a Husky fan?
BL: We came up to at least three games a year. Some of the earliest memories were being in the stands with my dad screaming "Touchdown Huskies" and having the horn go off. As I got older we started to come to some baseball games right as the stadium was being built and that was really cool to see the new stadium and the new football stadium. It was a really cool family connection.
Β
GH.com: How's baseball going for you at UW?
BL: It's going well, I love the team so much; it's the closest I have ever felt to my teammates. Not just because I'm living with them and around them all the time, but this is the closest I've been as brothers with my teammates. It's awesome to have a great support system. And then the baseball side is going well too. It kicked me in the butt at first but I think I'm getting the hang of it and I know what I need to do to get better.
Β
GH.com: What do you need to do to get into the mix?
BL: I need to be one of the better, if not the best, defenders at first base. I'm in a tough competition, there are some really good first baseman on this team that I'm competing with. I also need to become more consistent with my swing. I'm able to make some pretty good swings but it's the inconsistency that's my biggest nightmare right now.
Β
GH.com: What would you say your biggest strengths are?
BL: As a fielder my footwork, not necessarily my quickness but my footwork is good, and my arm strength as a first baseman because in high school I played third base so I have the arm strength of a third baseman at first base. Hitting-wise, being able to use both sides of the field. In high school my coaches preached big time middle-away, similar philosophy to coach Meggs, so I think that's helped me out here.
Β
GH.com: When you're not playing baseball what do you like to do with yourself?
BL: I like to play some video games but mainly just hang out with my friends because they're my brothers and as long as I'm with them I'm laughing and having fun.
Β
GH.com: What's your video game of choice right now?
BL: Right now it's got to be Fortnite, the whole new craze. You can play with three other people among yourself so we've got a few guys on the team that'll go home at nights and we'll all play together and try to get some wins.
Β
GH.com: Did you play other sports besides baseball growing up?
BL: I did, I played football and basketball growing up. In high school I was an all-state football player and I had the opportunity to play college football. Ultimately when it came down to this decision for me it came down to the fact that I loved practicing baseball and football practice is something that I dreaded going to every day. Even though the games are some of the most fun things you'll ever do, it was that mindset that helped me decide. I played tight end and linebacker, and I liked defense more just because we ran the Wing-T offense, so I was mostly blocking. When I caught the ball it was usually a touchdown but it was mostly blocking for my running backs. On defense I had the freedom to move around and blitz when I wanted to and my coach trusted me with that freedom.
Β
GH.com: What schools could you have gone to for football?
BL: I was talking to a few Division-III California schools and then a few Ivy League schools and Georgetown in D.C. I was about to go on a visit there, and then I talked to coach Meggs, committed here and gave them a call to let them know.
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