Photo by: Kari Hodges/UGAAA
Bulldog Spotlight: Getting to Know Brandt Pancer
November 14, 2023 | Baseball
Although he spent the last three years on the other side of the country, Georgia has always been home for senior pitcher Brandt Pancer. The right-hander from Suwanee began his collegiate career at Stanford University before coming home for his final season.
With the Cardinal, Pancer was a two-time Pac-12 Champion and reached the College World Series each of his three years. He was also a three-time Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll selection. During his junior year, Pancer recorded a 3-1 record with five saves and a 4.18 ERA over a team-best 32 appearances, including one start.
When did you start playing baseball, and when did you realize you loved the sport?
"I started when I was young and I hated it, so I stopped until I was about 10. That's when I was really like, 'Okay, I want to pursue this.' I was bad for the first couple of years until I got to high school. Then I picked it up and I was like, 'Okay, I want to go to college and play.' It was rough at the beginning. Then it started picking up once I got a little bit older."
How did you become a pitcher?
"I was always terrible at hitting, but I could always throw. I was always good defensively. I'd always pitched from the beginning, and I couldn't hit so I went over to the pitching side."
You're originally from Suwanee, but what else drew you to coming back and playing for Georgia this year?
"The coaching staff was the biggest thing. I saw what they did at LSU, and I knew a little bit about them. That was the initial thing that got me. Then having all my friends here, I know pretty much everyone on the team. That was another big thing. That was hard to turn down."
Stanford made it to Omaha all three of the seasons you played with the Cardinal. What was that experience like for you?
"It's hard to even put into words. It was super cool getting there, experiencing bigger crowds, being able to play the teams from around home and seeing people that I've played against all my life. It's a super cool experience. It's surreal."
How do you think you can bring your experience of playing in the College World Series to Georgia?
"Having experience, knowing what can happen. At any time, things can go crazy, so I think that's a good thing to have here and be able to bring here. I know this team hasn't been where they wanted to be the last couple of years, so I'm hoping to be able to bring it back to those stages this year."
At this point in your baseball career, you've played across the country. What has been your favorite place to play outside of Omaha?
"Outside of Omaha, I would say when we played Texas Tech in the Super Regional three years ago during my freshman year. That place was cool. It's hot, but it was a cool environment. That was fun."
What do you like to do when you're not playing baseball?
"I've gotten into golf recently. Really, anything outdoors. Corey [Collins] and I (my friend and teammate from my high school) who's now on the team here which is funny, we played golf all summer. We've been getting into it a lot, so that's my big thing outside of baseball."
What's your go to In-N-Out order?
"I'm two double-doubles with a side of fries. I love that place. I'm going to miss that."
After living in both California and Georgia, which state do you like living in better?
"I like Georgia more, just being my hometown. It's a lot easier here with my family, but California is beautiful. It's always so nice there. It's always no clouds in the sky, 70 degrees, so that was awesome. I'll miss that part of it. Then some of the people. A lot of the athletes I met there were awesome people."
What's your favorite part about being back in Georgia?
"Just overall family, friends and having people around me that I grew up with. It's really cool playing with a guy I went to high school with and guys we played against in high school. Having my family be able to come to a lot more games this year and see me play in college is going to be a super cool experience."
(Bulldog Spotlight written by Brigette Ramirez, Georgia Sports Communications Student Assistant)
With the Cardinal, Pancer was a two-time Pac-12 Champion and reached the College World Series each of his three years. He was also a three-time Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll selection. During his junior year, Pancer recorded a 3-1 record with five saves and a 4.18 ERA over a team-best 32 appearances, including one start.
When did you start playing baseball, and when did you realize you loved the sport?
"I started when I was young and I hated it, so I stopped until I was about 10. That's when I was really like, 'Okay, I want to pursue this.' I was bad for the first couple of years until I got to high school. Then I picked it up and I was like, 'Okay, I want to go to college and play.' It was rough at the beginning. Then it started picking up once I got a little bit older."
How did you become a pitcher?
"I was always terrible at hitting, but I could always throw. I was always good defensively. I'd always pitched from the beginning, and I couldn't hit so I went over to the pitching side."
You're originally from Suwanee, but what else drew you to coming back and playing for Georgia this year?
"The coaching staff was the biggest thing. I saw what they did at LSU, and I knew a little bit about them. That was the initial thing that got me. Then having all my friends here, I know pretty much everyone on the team. That was another big thing. That was hard to turn down."
Stanford made it to Omaha all three of the seasons you played with the Cardinal. What was that experience like for you?
"It's hard to even put into words. It was super cool getting there, experiencing bigger crowds, being able to play the teams from around home and seeing people that I've played against all my life. It's a super cool experience. It's surreal."
How do you think you can bring your experience of playing in the College World Series to Georgia?
"Having experience, knowing what can happen. At any time, things can go crazy, so I think that's a good thing to have here and be able to bring here. I know this team hasn't been where they wanted to be the last couple of years, so I'm hoping to be able to bring it back to those stages this year."
At this point in your baseball career, you've played across the country. What has been your favorite place to play outside of Omaha?
"Outside of Omaha, I would say when we played Texas Tech in the Super Regional three years ago during my freshman year. That place was cool. It's hot, but it was a cool environment. That was fun."
What do you like to do when you're not playing baseball?
"I've gotten into golf recently. Really, anything outdoors. Corey [Collins] and I (my friend and teammate from my high school) who's now on the team here which is funny, we played golf all summer. We've been getting into it a lot, so that's my big thing outside of baseball."
What's your go to In-N-Out order?
"I'm two double-doubles with a side of fries. I love that place. I'm going to miss that."
After living in both California and Georgia, which state do you like living in better?
"I like Georgia more, just being my hometown. It's a lot easier here with my family, but California is beautiful. It's always so nice there. It's always no clouds in the sky, 70 degrees, so that was awesome. I'll miss that part of it. Then some of the people. A lot of the athletes I met there were awesome people."
What's your favorite part about being back in Georgia?
"Just overall family, friends and having people around me that I grew up with. It's really cool playing with a guy I went to high school with and guys we played against in high school. Having my family be able to come to a lot more games this year and see me play in college is going to be a super cool experience."
(Bulldog Spotlight written by Brigette Ramirez, Georgia Sports Communications Student Assistant)
Players Mentioned
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