From Dexter Little League to All-American at Hillsdale College

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Aidan Brewer at bat. photo by Steve George

Hard work and a team mentality have led Aidan Brewer from snagging grounders in the Dexter Little League to earning high honors as a Hillsdale College baseball player.

Just this past week, the Hillsdale College Chargers announced “Brewer became just the second baseball player in Hillsdale College history to earn First Team All-American honors at the NCAA DII level on Thursday, earning the distinction from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. That honor comes in addition to the third team All-American honors Brewer received from the Division II Conference Commissioners Association earlier in the week.”

Brewer, whose family lives in Dexter, played Dexter Little League and for the Ann Arbor Wolves in travel baseball, and he then attended and graduated from Greenhills School in Ann Arbor.

This summer he is playing in the Northwoods League for the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters.

The Sun Times News (STN) caught up with him by email to ask him about these recent honors.

“I would say that winning the award feels incredible and I can't say thank you enough to all the coaches, teammates, friends, and family that I have had supporting me the entire time,” Brewer said. “To see all the hard work pay off in something like this is pretty amazing.”

The announcement, which is on the Chargers baseball web page, said that along with All-American honors, Brewer was also a unanimous first team All-Midwest Region selection to the NCBWA, D2CCA and American Baseball Coaches Association, and was named first-team All-G-MAC as well, earning conference recognition for the second consecutive season.

The announcement said Brewer:

“had an offensive season for the ages in 2022 at Hillsdale that propelled him to join an elite club of Charger All-Americans, leading the G-MAC in the regular season in batting average (.435), on-base percentage (.500), total hits (81) and doubles (19), while also finishing third in OPS (1.226), fourth in RBIs (50), sixth in runs scored (50), seventh in slugging percentage (.726), eighth in home runs (11) and ninth in stolen bases. He also finished the regular season in the top 15 in the nation among NCAA DII players in batting average, total hits and on-base percentage as well.”

“The sophomore really stood out in conference play, leading the G-MAC in batting average (.468), on-base percentage (.529) and hits (58) as well while ranking in the top 10 in every relevant offensive category except for triples.”

“Defensively, he showed impressive range for a shortstop, playing a role in 32 double plays, the most by a Charger field player since 2007 and one of the top numbers in the country in 2022.”

“Brewer's monster season has him in rarefied air in Hillsdale College history, ranking in the top 10 in seven single-season categories. He's third in hits (81), sixth in batting average (.435), sixth in runs scored (50), seventh in slugging percentage (.726), second in doubles (19), seventh in RBIs (50) and tied for 10th in home runs (11). His 23 career home runs are also tied for fourth all-time at Hillsdale, just one behind third place.”

In looking at these successes, STN asked Brewer what motivates him.

“I think what motivates me is the support group I have around me,” he answered. “Trying to help the team win is another motivator because we are all out there putting in the work to get better so just trying to do my part to help us win. I'm always striving to do my best for those that have supported me too, especially my family because I know all the sacrifices they made for me.”

He added, “As well, I think there is still a long way to go in my baseball career, and always trying to develop and get better to see where this whole thing can go is a big motivator.”

The team announcement ended by saying Brewer will return to Hillsdale in the fall, “looking to prepare for an even more impressive encore season and to help the Chargers contend for what would be the program's first regular season conference title in the modern era in 2023.”

Brewer on defense. photo by Steve George
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