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No Kep Brown

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The University of Miami thought it was dodging a major bullet when prep star and outfielder Kep Brown, a former Perfect Game All-American Game participant, made it abundantly clear he wasn’t willing to sign this past summer despite being a 10th-round pick to the St. Louis Cardinals. The deadline passed and Brown didn’t sign with the Cardinals. However, he also will not join the Hurricanes this fall and will instead head to Spartanburg (S.C.) Methodist College.

D1Baseball.com learned earlier on Tuesday of Brown’s intentions, and the Miami coaching staff confirmed the rumors. Brown, who was slated to join the program, officially, in 13 days, had a change of heart and will head to SMC, which sits three hours northwest of Wando, S.C., where he resides from. Though Brown surely wanted to stay closer to home, the most advantageous aspect of the move is that he will be eligible for the 2016 Major League Baseball draft, where as at Miami he wouldn’t have been eligible for the draft until the summer of 2018.

Brown’s sudden change of heart is unfortunate news for the Hurricanes. While the Hurricanes welcome back a club in ’16 that should compete for a return trip to the College World Series, Brown would have competed for a starting job right away. Brown is a very athletic 6-foot-4, 195-pounder, who has advanced hitting tools and can hit for power. Brown was ranked the No. 57 overall prospect (college and high school combined) in the country entering the MLB draft this past summer.

Even without Brown, the ‘Canes still project well in the spring. The Hurricanes welcome back a few quality arms, including Thomas Woodrey and others, while the offense should be solid with hard-hitting catcher Zack Collins and Willie Abreu, among others, back in the fold.

These types of moves by elite prospects aren’t uncommon, though situations do differ. Most recently, Blue Jays 11th-round pick and righthander Marrick Crouse, formerly a University of San Fransisco signee, decided not to sign with the Jays, and not to become a part of the USF program. Crouse had the option to head to a junior college, but opted to sign after the deadline with the University of Southern California.
 
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When the St Louis Cardinals and the Miami Hurricanes get beat out by Spartanburg Methodist College, you know something's up
 
He came and worked out a week or two with the team....my guess is he didn't gel with them and he would have had his work cut out for him to start, so he took the easy route....leave! It's the U. You have to work hard and earn your spot!
 
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