Brennan Leitao

Classroom

Brennan Leitao is a three-time Academic All-WAC selection and is on track to earn his fourth such honor following his senior season. He has been named to the Sacramento State Deans List in each semester.

Leitao worked hard to complete his degree one semester early so that he could focus on baseball this spring. It was important to him to finish his degree before possibly being drafted and playing professionally. He has recorded a 3.33 cumulative GPA at Sacramento State majoring in Communication Studies. When he is done playing baseball Leitao would like to work in a baseball team’s front office, hoping to continue working in baseball in some capacity. He also expects to continue his education in graduate school.

Character

Leitao very easily could never have become a collegiate athlete. He had to sit out his entire junior year of high school after having two stress fractures in his lower back. In missing a full year, no scouts or coaches knew anything about Leitao, and he had no collegiate offers entering his senior season. When he came back strong from his injuries, Sacramento State Head Coach Reggie Christiansen saw him pitch at a showcase and gave him an offer to join the team. As a veteran pitcher, Leitao works with the team’s younger pitchers, including seven freshman pitchers this season, teaching them how to handle college baseball. He went through growing pains himself, posting a 5.00 ERA as a freshman before working hard to get stronger and record a 2.40 ERA since his rookie year. He leads by example and always wants to help his team in any way he can. The best example of that was at the WAC Tournament last season when Leitao came back on three days rest in the league championship game to lead his team to a conference title and its first Div. I NCAA Regional.

Community

After his first two collegiate seasons Leitao went home to Irvine, Calif., and did two summers of community service at his church, working 50 hours each summer helping to teach sports to kids. He also did multiple homeless feeds with the team at First Covenant Church in Sacramento and registered at least 20 hours of community service with the team each year. Leitao also volunteered to coach a 9-year-old travel team that needed a head coach between his sophomore and junior years. He said the kids and parents respected and appreciated his work as a local collegiate athlete they could look up to and that coaching the kids reminded him of how much fun it is to play baseball.

Competition

Leitao has put together one of the best pitching careers in program history and, in 2015, was named a Louisville Slugger Preseason All-American and the WAC Preseason Pitcher of the Year. Among all active Division I pitchers Leitao its tied for second in career starts and innings pitched and is third in victories. He is a two-time All-WAC First Team selection, the first pitcher in program history to ever earn the accolade. After just three seasons, Leitao had already broken the program records for career wins and career innings pitched entering his season year. He is now third in program history in career strikeouts with a career ERA just over 3.00. He was an All-WAC Tournament selection in leading his team to the 2014 league title and the first Div. I NCAA Regional in program history. Leitao also started in the team’s first ever NCAA Regional win, allowing just one run over seven innings in a 5-4 victory over No. 18 Arizona State. An immediate starter as a freshman, Leitao has 209 strikeouts and just 78 walks with a career opposing batting average of just .247.