Pitt-Greensburg grad Brooks signs pro baseball contract

Former Pitt-Greensburg standout Dylin Brooks will head west to take the first step in what he hopes will be a long professional baseball career.

Brooks, 23, a Norwin graduate, signed a one-year contract with the Garden City Wind of the independent Pecos League.

The team's first-round draft pick in its inaugural season, Brooks, a middle infielder, will report to the Wind, based in western Kansas, in early May. The team plays a 70-game schedule that runs from the middle of May until the end of July.

In its fifth year, the Pecos League consists of eight teams, including some in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado.

Brooks is the first Pitt-Greensburg player to sign a professional contract.

“I want to go out there and play baseball (and) try to go as far as I can go,” said Brooks, who aspires to a major league career.

Garden City coach Mike Busa likes Brooks' versatility.

“He'll be our everyday second baseman, but he can play third, too,” Busa said. “He's my definition of a baseball player.”

A four-year starter in the middle infield, Brooks finished his career at Pitt-Greensburg as the school's all-time leader in hits with 158 and career runs with 131 from 2011-14.

He earned Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference honors his last three seasons and helped the Bobcats to their first Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference championship game appearance and a second-place finish in 2014.

Pitt-Greensburg coach Anthony Williams suggested the Pecos League to Brooks.

“I thought it was a good place for him to get started,” Williams said. “It seemed like a good fit.”

League commissioner Andrew Dunn coached Brooks during a three-week training camp in Houston.

“He's very solid,” said Dunn, who considers Brooks equally strong offensively and defensively. “He's a middle infielder who can hit.”

Dunn said Brooks was one of 24 players drafted by the league.

“We haven't had very many Pennsylvania players,” Dunn said.

Brooks said he was “dumbfounded” to be Garden City's first draft pick.

Busa expects to Brooks to be promoted quickly.

“Everything (with Garden City) is one year,” Busa said. “You do this job, you move up the ladder (to another league).”

Texas Rangers pitcher Jon Edwards, who played in the league in 2011, was the first Pecos League alumnus to reach the major leagues. Edwards made his big league debut with the Rangers last August.

Busa, 27, likes Brooks' character as much as his athletic ability.

“He's a very good-natured kid (who) gets along with everybody,” Busa said.

Karen Kadilak is a freelance writer.