MCKENNA MORIN; Photo Editor; morinmn@plu.edu
Tuesday, Feb. 13, Pacific Lutheran University’s baseball team announced the recruitment of their newest and youngest player. He was signed on in a special Draft Day with Team IMPACT.
Brown signing his official player forms while his family supports him from the sidelines.
A news conference in PLU’s Columbia Center was held in honor of Garrett Brown, PLU’s newest baseball player. Brown is a first grader at Lakeland Hills Elementary School in Auburn, Washington.
For the remaining 2018 season, Brown will participate in team activities, practices and games with the PLU baseball team.
Brown is battling acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). ALL is a bone marrow cancer that affects the white blood cells in the body. Brown has been fighting against ALL since October 2016.
When he was first diagnosed, he was immediately hospitalized and underwent intensive daily chemotherapy for a month, according to his parents.
In the official press release, GoLutes.com stated that Brown “serves as an inspiration to his new teammates and friends on the Lute baseball team.”
Now, Brown returns to the hospital for more treatments every 10 days. He is currently in the maintenance phase of treatment. Before his diagnosis, Brown played soccer and had recently scored his first goal.
[Garrett] is a tough kid that really loves the game of baseball.
– Nolan Soete, Head Coach
After being diagnosed, he could no longer participate in sports. As his treatments continued he went back to soccer, and now baseball.
“Garrett is going to be a great asset for the Lutes,” said Head Coach Nolan Soete. “He’s a tough kid that really loves the game of baseball and we’re excited to have him at PLU.”
The team and Brown were paired up through Team IMPACT. A non-profit organization, Team IMPACT matches children facing serious illnesses with local college teams, in hopes of forming lifelong bonds and life-changing outcomes according to GoLutes. Within the past seven years Team IMPACT has matched more than 1,400 children with more than 500 colleges and universities in 47 states, reaching over 35,000 participating student-athletes.
Brown was paired with PLU and was welcomed to the PLU family. He signed his official forms surrounded by the team, family, friends and fans. Keep an eye out for Brown in PLU’s next home baseball game on March 3.
