Three years ago, Andrew Brackman was a senior in high school and a highly recruited two-sport athlete — so highly recruited that both baseball coach Elliott Avent and basketball coach Herb Sendek flew to Brackman’s home in Cincinnati the day of the 2004 Major League Draft to make sure of his commitment.

That day though, he went undrafted and came to N.C. State that fall with full intentions of playing basketball and baseball for his entire college career, which he did for two years.

But last baseball season, the 6-10 right-hander struggled to a 1-3 record and battled a stress fracture in his hip that eventually sidelined him. That got him thinking.

“I started thinking about [playing just baseball] last season when I got hurt,” he said. “I just thought doing two sports was too much on my body. Basketball kills your body and it’s tough to go straight from there to baseball.”

His final decision, though, didn’t come until after a successful summer playing baseball in the Cape Cod League and for Team USA, and flirting with basketball this past August.

“At the start of the school year, I did skill workouts and lifted with the [basketball] team,” he said. “I was a basketball player. I did it for three weeks.”

During that time, according to Brackman, basketball coach Sidney Lowe recruited him like a he was a high school prospect who was deciding on a school. He called him and sent him letters urging him to play.

But for Brackman, the decision to focus on baseball was the safe one for his future.

“It was a hard day for me, because I didn’t want to give up,” Brackman said. “But I went into his office and sat down and told [Lowe], ‘I don’t think I’m going to play this year.'”

A decision Brackman said he made completely on his own. Even Avent said he had no input in the process at all. In fact, in the only conversation the coach had with Brackman, Avent praised his basketball ability.

“I saw him pitch in Fayetteville with the USA team and then bumped into him at a barbecue afterwards,” Avent said. “And I told how much I really loved watching him play basketball.”

But when basketball season rolled around there was no Brackman on the court or in the building at all for that matter.

“At the beginning of the [basketball] season, I didn’t even go to the games,” he said. “I knew I would miss it too much.”

And miss he did, especially during the ACC Tournament and on that faithful Saturday in February when the Wolfpack upset the Tar Heels, a game in which Brackman was actually recognized on the court at halftime with the baseball team.

“By the end of the season I had to jump on the bandwagon,” he said.

Now eight months after giving up basketball and nearly through his first full season of college baseball, Brackman said he doesn’t regret the decision and is confident it will help him in the long-run.

“If I would’ve played both, I would’ve only played about half a baseball season. And then I would’ve been thrown into some minor league system,” Brackman said. “I’ve never thrown this many innings before. So it’s good to get my arm conditioned by throwing this [entire] season.”

So far this year though, the hard-throwing righty has not been lights-out like most people expected. He’s 6-foot-4-inch with a 3.90 ERA and has pitched 67 innings, far-and-away the most he’s ever pitched in a season.

But Avent is not buying into the idea that Brackman has had a poor season and blames the idea on unreasonable expectations.

“I have seen stories written that said he’s not having that good of a year,” Avent said. “But if you’re talking to scouting directors and general managers of major league teams that don’t make poor decisions, or their intent is to not make poor decisions, they think he’s having a fabulous year.”

In fact, Avent went so far as to suggest that playing basketball could have helped Brackman to a better baseball season, just as far as the numbers are concerned.

“It would have been easier, probably, the other way,” he said. “It would have been easier for him to come out here with a fresh arm and throw 40 innings and dominate like he did his freshman year.”

Looking ahead to the draft in June, Brackman expects to be a high first-round pick, just as most expected before the season. But for him, when and where he goes is not important.

He’s just looking forward to knowing all he has to do is play baseball every day. But just in case those plans fall through, he does have a backup plan that still includes State and the hardwood.

“Hey, if this baseball thing doesn’t work out, I’m dying to get back on the basketball court,” he said.