Bishop Feehan 6'9" senior Brody Bumila pivots to MLB dreams after dominant run to basketball title
Brody Bumila is a towering presence for Bishop Feehan High School in Attleboro, Massachusetts, whether on the basketball court or on the baseball diamond.
Standing at 6-foot-9, weighing 245 pounds, the senior has been referred to by some baseball scouts as a unicorn. Now, he has eyes on playing at the professional level.
It isn't just baseball where Bumila shines.
"He's pretty dominant," basketball teammate Jake Webster said. "Anyone who guards him doesn't stand a chance."
Brody Bumila's basketball dominance
This winter, Bumila averaged over 40 points and 20 rebounds per game in the postseason as he led Bishop Feehan to a boys basketball state championship.
"I just want to win," he said. "I'm such a super competitor. I want to win at everything I do."
When he was a freshman, Bumila's towering frame was still a work in progress.
"My friends would call me 'Bambi.' I was super lanky, especially during freshman, sophomore year, even into my junior fall. I was super lanky, and then I started to thicken up," he said.
Webster joked that having Bumila as a teammate made his life easier on the court.
"It was pretty sweet. I throw the ball, he'll go get it," Webster said.
But Bumila added it wasn't all clean-up work under the rim.
"I did hit a three in the state championship game and I will die on that hill that I can shoot the basketball," Bumila said.
"When that shot went up, everyone was kind of holding their breath. When it went in, it was kind of one of those 'Of course it went in at this point, he can do anything right now,'" said Bishop Feehan baseball coach Joe Breen.
Sights set on Major League Baseball
What makes Bumila's skillset even more impressive is that basketball isn't even his primary sports. Ever since he was four years old, baseball was his main love.
Born and raised in Raynham, Massachusetts, Bumila unsurprisingly grew up rooting for David Ortiz and the Boston Red Sox. Now, it's Bumila who has big league teams watching him, with several even sitting down to meet with him as one of the country's top pitching prospects coming out of high school.
"[Bumila is] one of those guys who, his training, his attention to detail, he's got his priorities straight, he leads by example," Breen said. "He's a guy that takes everything so seriously as far as bettering himself."
The senior has a fastball that tops 99 mph, and a mindset on the mound that is straightforward.
"Dominate the zone, throw the ball hard down middle and I don't think they're going to hit it," he said.
The approach has paid off. This fall, Bumila is taking his talents to the University of Texas, hoping to get selected in the Major League Baseball draft in July.
"That's what everyone at my level hopes. I think I can. I have the build, I have the drive, I have the mentality for it. I just have to go out and succeed now," Bumila said.
Bumila's journey has been a comeback story of sorts. He went through elbow surgery last May, an internal brace procedure.
By November, he was back throwing again in time for his senior season. He said it meant a lot to him getting to be a kid again for the next few months before baseball becomes his job for the foreseeable future.