- Full name Brandon James Neely
- Born 07/08/2003 in Jacksonville, FL
- Profile Ht.: 6'3" / Wt.: 200 / Bats: R / Throws: R
- School Spruce Creek
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Drafted in the 3rd round (86th overall) by the Boston Red Sox in 2024 (signed for $700,000).
View Draft Report
School: Florida
Commit/Drafted: Never Drafted
Age at Draft: 21.0
Neely attended the same Spruce Creek High School in Port Orange, Fla., that 2020 first rounder Zac Veen attended, and while he was a top-200 talent in the 2021 class a year later he made it to campus at Florida. Neely posted a 3.68 ERA as a high-usage reliever for the Gators in his first two seasons and was named a stopper of the year finalist after pushing his strikeout rate from 25.3% to 30.1% and moving to the closer role in 2023. A 6-foot-3, 210-pound righthander, Neely has a deep pitch mix for a college reliever. He mostly works off a 92-94 mph fastball that touches 97, but will also mix in a low-80s slider, an upper-80s cutter, a mid-80s changeup and a slower, mid-70s curveball. While his breaking balls are high-spin offerings, Neely’s fastball has been his best swing-and-miss pitch as its usage might suggest. He throws from a lower release height and gets tons of arm-side running life on the heater.
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Draft Prospects
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School: Florida Commit/Drafted: Never Drafted
Age At Draft: 21
Neely attended the same Spruce Creek High School in Port Orange, Fla., that 2020 first rounder Zac Veen attended, and while he was a top-200 talent in the 2021 class a year later he made it to campus at Florida. Now a 6-foot-3, 210-pound righthander, Neely split time as a starter and reliever during his 2022 freshman season but has been a reliable reliever for the most part in both of the 2023 and 2024 seasons. This spring he posted a 5.13 ERA over 79 innings with a 31.4% strikeout rate and 8.1% walk rate. His best pitch is a 92-94 mph fastball that gets up to 97 and features solid riding life and armside run from a lower release point that allows it to generate lots of whiffs for a fastball. He mostly paired the heater with a mid-80s slider, but will also mix in a mid-80s changeup and has thrown a slower mid-70s curveball in the past—though not as often this spring. He’s been a fair strike-thrower in college, which could create an opportunity to start in pro ball, though a bullpen role is his most likely outcome.