Tomorrow's Leaders

Bobby Bramhall

April 4, 2007

Rice junior pitcher Bobby Bramhall is pretty sure that things happen for a reason. He's not always sure why, but he's thankful that he can at least see, literally see that is, a bigger picture.

Only a short time ago in his freshman season when he also doubled as an outfielder/left-handed hitter, Bramhall noticed a disturbing trend. When playing in the outfield he began to have more and more trouble seeing the ball come off the bat, or picking up the horsehide sphere in an overcast sky or at night under the stadium lights.

How can this be? Only the semester before Bramhall underwent the laser surgery procedure to correct a case of far-sightedness and astigmatism that sometimes effects young adults. In Bramhall's case however, the procedure soon began to have the reverse effect and his vision started getting worse and worse with every passing week. Just barely 20 years old at the time, Bobby Bramhall got the frightening news.

"The doctors said that if I hadn't come in when I had and undergone a second surgery, one to correct the first one, it really would have been difficult to correct," Bramhall said. "It was scary for sure, but you have to have faith in God to watch over things and help the doctors do their work.

"I can see fine now," Bramhall said, still with a sense of relief even two years later. "I feel like I am blessed that things worked out. It's made me look at things, and I guess you could say 'see things' in a whole new way."

With his vision cleared, the 5-foot-11 College Station native has had two outstanding seasons for the Owls' prestigious baseball program. In 2006 he went 4-2 on the mound and maintained a 2.36 ERA in 53.1 innings. He saved some of his best for last and, when the team needed him most, pitched a career-long 4.2 innings of two-hit relief at the College World Series in Omaha.

Bramhall is having an even better 2007 season as one of the team's first options out of the bullpen. He filled a vital role when fellow left-hander Cole St.Clair, a first team all-America selection from a year ago, was sidelined before the start of the season. Bramhall has quickly picked up three wins and three saves in 10 appearances. He has maintained a 1.75 ERA and struck out 31 hitters in 25.2 innings. Overall, Bramhall has faced 92 opposing hitters and held the foes to a composite .163 batting average.

The success on the field is impressive enough, but there's still another side to Bramhall that separates him from a number of other college students and student-athletes. The lefty is one of the leaders of Rice's chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), as well as some of the community service efforts taken-up by Rice student-athletes. Bramhall has helped spearhead a number of off-field projects ranging from visiting hospitalized children in the nearby Texas Medical Center, to clothing drives for the needy, to helping the FCA "huddles" organize the weekly meeting process which gives student athletes fellowship and motivation.

Bramhall has been witness to many different motivational speakers, but it's hard to imagine that any visitor in that role would quite have anything as inspiring as his own story of nearly losing his sight, but coming back to be one of the pitching and off-the-field leaders of the nationally-ranked baseball program - all while having a big part in a myriad of community service duties.

He is Rice University student-athlete Bobby Bramhall, and he is one of Tomorrow's Leaders.