Chris Bradley hasn’t yet thrown a pitch, swung the bat or fielded a fly ball for the Gavilan College baseball team. But the lefty will have one less decision to make as to his next stop following his sophomore campaign for the Rams.
The 2010 Sobrato High-Morgan Hill product, who transferred to Gavilan prior to the fall semester after a year at Mission College, signed his National Letter of Intent to play for New Mexico State  University in the fall of 2012.
“I’m really excited,” Bradley said Thursday as a dozen friends gathered inside the gym at Gavilan. “And what they offered me was tough to pass up.”
Bradley, who is a left-handed pitcher and center fielder, said his scholarship is about 75 percent of full.
During his senior season at Sobrato, Bradley was named the Blossom Valley Athletic League’s Mount Hamilton Division Most Valuable Player. He posted a 6-4 record on the hill with a 1.80 earned run average. At the plate, Bradley led the league with a .471 average and three home runs.
After a frustrating season at Mission, Bradley said he felt the switch to Gavilan was for the best.
“I should’ve been here from the beginning,” he said. “This is a great opportunity. This is ideal.”
And in a year, he’ll make another big move.
“This is probably one of the bigger signings to come out of the baseball program in the past eight of nine years,” Gavilan manager Neal Andrade said. “This is a major Division 1 signing.”
Andrade added that Bradley had a successful fall ball season, getting much needed reps in the batting cage and in the bullpen. Andrade said he has high expectations for the two-way player come spring and opening day.
“He’s a middle of the lineup, three-hole type of hitter. And when he isn’t pitching I’d like to have him in the outfield,” Andrade said. “We think he can step up his game even more. He is the kind of kid that will take that challenge and handle it.”
Bradley, who said he had an offer from Fresno State out of high school that fizzled because he grades didn’t meet the required standards, isn’t about to let anything interrupt him this time around.
“I’m passing,” he said smiling.Â
“I’m just trying to get bigger, faster, strong. Get a more consistent hitting the ball and become a better team player.”
