Brady Shannon has served two masters for most of his competitive career.
He played three sports in high school during his time at Ursuline College: soccer, baseball, and basketball, eventually developing into a Division I prospect in both baseball and football.
So Shannon was left with a choice. He needed to decide which he wanted to pursue at the next level. Although he had multiple offers from different schools in both sports, despite his love and passion for football, Shannon chose to go to Central Florida to play baseball.
“I was very interested in baseball at the time, and my goal was to play college baseball at UCF,” Shannon said. “I had a really great relationship with the coaching staff, and it was my goal to play baseball at a big school in the South, and UCF was one of those schools.”
But that nagging thought was always in the back of his mind during his freshman and early sophomore seasons with the Golden Knights.
“I really missed playing football,” Shannon said. “I’ve been itching to play this game ever since my last game at Ursuline.”
So at the end of UCF’s fall baseball season, in early December, Shannon posted his name in the NCAA transfer portal as a football transfer rather than a baseball transfer.
One school, Youngstown State, immediately reached out to Shannon and stayed in touch. The Penguins have had a previous relationship with Shannon, having scouted him as a football player when he was at Ursuline.
Once that happened, it made sense for Shannon. Everything went well and he announced his decision to return to Mahoning Valley on Dec. 9, transfer to YSU and return to football.
“There are other schools that have reached out to me with the soccer side of things, and a lot of baseball schools that have reached out to me and want me to play baseball,” Shannon said. “(YSU) showed more interest than anyone else. Then I was able to go home and talk to the staff and they gave me a good opportunity to play the sport that I love.”
Saturdays in the fall were “tough” for Shannon. He sat on the couch in his dorm room at UCF, watching college football, and he felt like he could be on the field.
“I’m definitely going to be there. That made me miss it even more,” Shannon said. “I thought it was a good time to make this decision for myself and my family. I was still young and had a lot of time left in my college career, so I thought it was a good time. , obviously felt like a very good fit for where I ended up.”
That being said, Shannon has no complaints about her time at UCF.
He received significant playing time during his freshman season, playing in 25 games and starting nine games. Shannon finished the spring 2023 season with a .149 batting average, five RBIs, and two home runs in 47 at-bats. One of his home runs resulted in a walk-off win for the Golden Knights against Siena earlier in the season.
“Obviously, things don’t always go as planned,” Shannon said. “There are always unexpected bumps in the road, but I feel like things happen for a reason. I don’t regret anything I’ve done in college so far. I feel like I had a great time and built great relationships with the coaches and players. I’m really happy with the decision I made coming out of high school, but obviously I changed my mind while I was in high school and I didn’t want to play football very much. I missed it so much that I wanted to go back to soccer.”
Shannon has not played in an official game of soccer since leading Ursuline in the Division IV state championship game on Dec. 3, 2021, but is confident he can pick up where he left off playing soccer once he gets to the game. have. YSU.
“I believe in my abilities on the soccer field and the baseball field,” Shannon said. “Some people may wonder, and I get asked that question a lot, ‘Can you still do it? I’ll be able to get my hair wet and get back into the swing of things. … I know I can still do it, and I wouldn’t have made this decision if I didn’t think I could still do it.”
All of the physical tools and attributes that made him a three-star football prospect coming out of high school are still there.
Additionally, Shannon had no shortage of individual accomplishments as Ursuline’s quarterback. During the 2021 season, he set school records for passing yards and passing touchdowns.
“I think Brady is the perfect player. He has the ability to run the ball well — he’s taken a really big step forward in that regard — and he’s shown a lot of confidence in his ability to run. ” Ursuline football coach Dan Reardon told the Tribune-Chronicle and Vindicator during the 2021 game. season. “His arm strength is off the charts. He has the ability to make all kinds of pitches.”
Current YSU starting quarterback Mitch Davidson is no longer eligible after his record-breaking final season last fall, leaving the Penguins’ starting quarterback job wide open for next season.
Beau Brungard, a Springfield native, played as a backup quarterback for YSU this fall. As such, Shannon, Brangard, freshmen Bryce Schodelmeyer and Vinny Varone, redshirt freshman Max Brann, and high school freshman Collin Siebert, who signed with the Penguins on Wednesday, all play YSU’s QB1 for the Penguins. He will spend the spring, summer, and fall off-seasons aiming for this goal. The 2024 season opener will be played at Villanova on August 29th.
“I’m very excited. I don’t know Mitch personally, but he obviously set a good example of what it’s like to be a quarterback at YSU,” Shannon said. “I know I’m a competitor. I’m sure all the other guys in the quarterback room are competitors as well. But for me it’s all about the team, so it’s all about the team. It’s going to come down to who helps the team the most. I’m really excited to go out there and play again and learn the offense and meet the team and build relationships with the players and the coaching staff. Plus, It will be a lot of fun to come back to Youngstown.”
nmadhavan@tribtoday.com