Watch: TCU Coach Kirk Saarloos Talks About Brayden Taylor
ARLINGTON, Texas — TCU head coach Kirk Saarloos, like everyone else, was in awe of what Brayden Taylor accomplished Thursday night at the Big 12 Tournament.
In the Horned Frogs’ 14-4 win over Kansas, Taylor hit his 45th career home run in the sixth inning. It also made him TCU’s all-time career home run king.
Saarloos was the coach that helped recruit the infielder out of Copper Hills High School in West Jordan, Utah.
A career like Taylor’s — one that may include him hearing his name called in the first round of the 2023 MLB Draft in July — was not what Saarloos envisioned when he met Taylor and his parents for breakfast one day after a TCU football game at the Marriott in downtown Fort Worth.
He did not see home run records in Taylor’s future.
“I was thinking to myself, ‘This could be a good ballplayer,’ but he was about 145, 150 pounds,” Saarloos said. “We thought, ‘Okay, this guy is going to be a really good player in the middle of the field. He’ll be able to get some hits, but did I think he’d be able to break the home run record? I didn’t think so.
“But the crazy thing is he got on campus for his freshman fall and it, ‘Wow, this guy’s pretty good.’ And he really hasn’t stopped.”
TCU will play Saturday morning in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals against an opponent to be determined in Friday’s elimination games.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard
