Braden Montgomery brings special talent to the Boston Red Sox as he begins his path through professional baseball.
Boston picked the 21-year-old on Sunday with the No. 12 overall selection in the 2024 MLB Draft. The 6-foot-2 Texas A&M product grew into his physical build and took advantage of a developed skillset.
Born in Iowa, Montgomery grew up in Mississippi with a passion for the game and a drive to improve every day. He attended camps as a middle schooler with coaches from his future high school, Madison Central, in Mississippi.
“What’s awesome about him is the work he’s put in,” Madison Central head coach Patrick Robey told NESN.com.
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Montgomery had building blocks to become a good baseball player when he arrived to high school, but he still needed plenty of work.
“He was a good player, but what led us to believe and to just feel confident that he was going to be a tremendous player was the work ethic,” Robey said. “That’s the type of kid he was. He had a toolset that was good, but not outstanding.”
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Montgomery stayed consistent in his work in his early high school years and reached a turning point entering his junior year. That’s when his physical gifts took a step forward and painted the image of a future impact ballplayer.
“His work ethic was on a whole other level,” Robey added.
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Montgomery got stronger in the weight room and dug into refining his skills on the field, including cutting down on a fair amount of swing-and-miss at the plate. Those developments started the hype around the Madison product, who gained offers from schools while Perfect Game tabbed him as the top high school prospect in Mississippi and No. 23 overall in the nation.
Montgomery constantly put in work on his own time to strengthen his abilities on the field. He eventually worked with a personal hitting coach, Jeremy Isenhower, as well as personal trainer Gregory Shelton. Those investments sparked a jump in his power at the plate and strengthened his arm to throw upwards of 90 mph on the mound and from the outfield.
Montgomery’s junior season took a hit due to COVID-19. When some players got stagnant during the pandemic, Montgomery catapulted himself forward in his development.
Montgomery became a force at the plate the following season, hitting over .400 with seven long balls in 35 games. He had an advanced ability at the high school level to make in-game adjustments, and one instance particularly popped into Robey’s memory.
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“He goes back up and hits a home run from the right side,” Robey recalled. “Then, his next at-bat, he hits one from the left side. That’s one thing that stood out to me.”
It was clear that Montgomery’s baseball future shined bright. That never seemed to phase him as he continued to dominate in Mississippi.
“When you’re a big prospect in high school, everybody knows it,” Robey offered. “The dugout on the other side of the field is very chirpy. Whether it’s jealousy or gamesmanship or whatever it is, Braden dealt with that a lot. I remember one game we’re playing a big rival and he punches out 20 (batters) in a seven-inning (complete game). That’s the kind of focus that he has. He’s incredible.”
In addition to Montgomery performing like a star on the field, Robey watched the talented outfielder shine as a teammate with an infectious personality that benefited those around him.
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“He’s no different than anybody else when it comes to having a good time,” Robey said. “Cutting loose in the dugout and in the locker room. When the lights come on and he puts the cleats on, it’s almost like Clark Kent. He’s just a normal guy when he’s on the streets. When he walks into that phone booth, he becomes Superman. That’s kind of how Braden was when he came out of that clubhouse. He was almost like Superman in cleats.”
Montgomery eventually graduated and took his talents west to Stanford University. With the chance to gain a remarkable education and develop as an athlete at a Power-Five school, the opportunity enticed the young player to make the move. With such a move, an adjustment period was needed.
“One of the things was the adjustment period,” Stanford head coach David Esquer told NESN.com. “I’ll be honest, there was a learning curve as he came to Stanford. I remember having to get our coaches to relax and not worry about Braden and his performance. I had to point out to them, ‘When has Braden Montgomery had to be good at practice?”
Esquer continued: “… I said, ‘When the lights turn on and it’s a real game with a real pitcher, he’s gonna be Braden Montgomery.’ That’s exactly what he was when we started playing real competition. He had an All-American freshman year. He just took off from there.”
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Indeed he did.
Montgomery grew up at Stanford and performed like an impact player. The outfielder clubbed 35 home runs across his two seasons in the Pac-12 while posting an OPS over 1.000 as a sophomore. He consistently met the moment for the Cardinal ballclub; making the Stanford All-Regional team, the Pac-12 All-Conference team and stayed on the watch list for the Golden Spikes Award.
“The thing that really stood out is that as the competition and the lights got brighter, the better he played,” Esquer said. “When we played in regionals and super regionals and the College World Series, it was not a real jump. He just kept a real slow heartbeat and just kind of performed like who he was. When you see a guy that’s able to do that, you don’t worry about them playing in three-tiered stadiums with 50,000 people in it. It’s just baseball to them. That’s what he showed me.”
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Montgomery transferred to Texas A&M for the 2024 season and stood out at College Station.
“He had one moment in the fall where his last seven swings, he hit seven home runs in a row,” Texas A&M head coach Michael Earley told NESN.com. “It was three left-handed and then he went four right-handed. Left field. Left center. Right field line and then one up the foul pole in right. We were all just like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ I’ll never actually forget that.”
Montgomery blended into the SEC with a seamless transition. He punished baseballs all season long with 27 home runs while hitting .322 with a 1.187 OPS. He also excelled defensively, as opposing baserunners still tried to test his highly-graded arm.
“Texas A&M is a really good environment and a good place to play,” Earley said. “We made him feel comfortable from the beginning. Braden’s the type of guy where it doesn’t matter the environment, he’s gonna be comfortable in his own skin. I just think it was a perfect match. With a really good lineup around him, he flourished.”
Montgomery’s move to another powerhouse baseball conference didn’t seem to impact his play. Like Esquer at Stanford, Earley watched a calm, cool and collected star with the Aggies.
“He’s not afraid of the big moment,” Earley said. “He’s a superstar. That’s what he is. Superstar kid. Superstar player. He’s built for these kind of things.”
A wonderful college career came to a devastating end when Montgomery suffered an ankle injury during a postseason battle with Oregon during regionals.
“That was probably the lowest moment I’ve ever had on a baseball field,” Earley reflected. “Definitely the lowest moment I’ve had. I was just waiting for him to get up. He never did. I just felt so bad for him. I didn’t care about us or the team. I felt terrible for him. To his credit, I think how he handled it helped the guys.”
The Red Sox prospect still working through rehabbing the injury as he wheeled around the draft on a knee scooter. While such a setback could derail a player, the time off the field enriched what may be Montgomery’s greatest intangible: his character.
Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello saw that from across the field when his Volunteers defeated the Aggies in the 2024 Men’s College World Series. Montgomery supported his teammates and emerged as a leader in the dugout. Vitello made sure to verbalize that to Montgomery during their interaction on MLB Network on draft night.
That’s the type of human being he was at each stop of his baseball life.
“He’s a charismatic individual, right?” Esquer said. “People flock to him. He’s got that smile that’s contagious. When he plays with energy, everybody plays with energy. It’s a simple fact.”
Montgomery now joins a tremendously talented Red Sox farm system, which has positioned Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony and Kyle Teel as the next core in Boston. Earley believes Montgomery will be a great fit with the style of player development the Red Sox operate with.
His power headlines his profile, though a few aspects should be noted. All three of his coaches believe Montgomery can continue to switch-hit at the next level and his defense should be recognized as a strength.
“He was first-team All-SEC defense,” Earley said. “He’s really comfortable out there. He’s super smooth. Really good at positioning himself. Just has a ton of feel for the pace for the game. While I think an arm can be an overrated weapon because it’s not used that much, he changed my perspective on that because his was used a ton. He made some throws I’ve never seen before. I don’t know if I’ll ever see them again.”
Montgomery’s story is one of development for a quality person and an equally talented ballplayer. The Red Sox had another top prospect fall to them for the second consecutive draft. It may just have earned them another promising look to the future.
“He’s going to fit in just fine,” Earley said. “I don’t think Braden Montgomerys come along very often.”
Featured image via Kevin Jairaj/USA TODAY Sports Images
