By STEVE KRAH
Indiana-born fireballer Brock Moore is slated to play his last collegiate baseball season in the Pacific Northwest.
Moore, who was born in Greenwood, Ind., and grew up in Carmel, Ind., and graduated from University High School, committed this summer with the University of Oregon for 2023-24.
The first day of online summer classes for the Sports Management major begins for the big right-hander on Monday. He is to move to campus around Sept. 8 with the first baseball event slated for Sept. 14.
A 6-foot-6, 245-pounder, Moore has a four-seam fastball that sat at 94 to 96 mph and touched 98 this past spring while pitching for Menlo College — an NAIA program in Atherton, Calif.
Throwing from a high three-quarter arm slot, Moore also has a sinker, change-up and slider.
“I throw it kind of weird,” says Moore of his sinker. “I throw it with no seams, a reverse slider grip and I just pronate at the top of my arm action.
“It kills a little bit of the velocity. It’s like 90 to 92 mph and I get some good run.”
It’s a four-seam “circle” change and sweeping slider that Moore throws.
It was when he figured out how to use his height to his advantage that Moore really took off as a pitcher.
Moore, who turned 23 in May, graduated from University in 2019 and watched from the dugout as the Trailblazers claimed an IHSAA Class 1A state championship.
He was ineligible to play as a senior. He did not play baseball as a freshman and was on the junior varsity squad at Carmel High School as a sophomore.
Following his mother to Terre Haute, Moore transferred briefly to Terre Haute South Vigo where he did not play and then back to Carmel while missing a full semester of classes and finals. He reached out University and got caught up academically and played there as a junior.
In 2018, Moore went 7-0 with a 2.77 ERA on the mound and hit .347 and 25 RBIs.
Moore spent one season each at National Junior College Athletic Association members Rend College in Ina, Ill. (2020), and Danville Area Community College (2021) and two at Menlo (2022 and 2023).
The COVID-19 pandemic cut short the 2020 season at Rend Lake. Moore relieved in one game and went 1-0 with no strikeouts and one walk in 1 1/3 innings.
At Danville Area, the righty came out of the bullpen for all eight of his mound appearances and went 0-1 with 15 strikeouts and 15 walks in 12 1/3 innings.
After pitching for the Park Rangers of the College Summer League at Grand Park in Westfield, Ind., in 2021 — the only summer he has played since becoming a collegian, Moore headed to California.
With the 2022 Menlo Oaks, he got into six games (four starts) and was 0-2 with a 4.00 earned run average, 25 strikeouts and 15 walks in 18 innings.
In 2023, all 11 of his appearances were starts and he went 2-5 with a 3.33 ERA, 70 strikeouts and 20 walks in 51 1/3 innings. That’s over 12 strikeouts per nine innings.
“I definitely learned to get a routine down,” says Moore. Juco was mostly go on your own and figure it out. Menlo was more organized. We had team lifts every week, a set practice schedule.”
Alex Hoover is the head coach at Menlo. Trent Verlin is the pitching coach.
“(Verlin) was the one who helped me master my change-up. I worked on it every bullpen and every pitching session. We worked on change-ups every time.
“That helped my arm path and working out front. I saw velocity rise and it made the change-up my best secondary pitch.”
Moore also began working with online pitching trainer Ben Baggett (who is with the Toronto Blue Jays organization).
Roommate Evan Wilcox, an Ontario native who was also at Rend Lake in 2020, found Baggett on Instagram and started training with him and Moore followed suit.
Baggett pitched at Stanford in 2019. Former Oregon player Jack Marder was on the Cardinal coaching staff and is an assistant at his alma mater.
Marder reached out to Moore and an offer was made and accepted.
At one point Moore was going to play this summer for the Northwoods League’s Rochester (Minn.) Honkers, but plans changed.
Moore attended a pre-draft workout with the Texas Rangers in Cincinnati and later agreed to join former Purdue University head coach Mark Wasikowski at Oregon in 2023-24. “Waz” has led the Ducks since the 2020 season.
Blake Hawksworth was named pitching coach in July.
It has been announced that Oregon will move to the Big Ten Conference, but the Ducks will be in the Pac-12 during Moore’s season in Eugene.
Starting has been Moore’s most-recent role, but says he is also OK with coming out of the bullpen.
Growing up, Moore’s favorite player was Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia.
“He was a small guy,” says Moore. “But I loved Dustin.”
Moore’s favorite pitcher is right-hander Justin Verlander, who recently went back to the Houston Astros.
“I just love the way that he throws,” says Moore. “He brought life to having a very high-spin fastball and living up in the (strike) zone.
“He’s been doing that now for 20 years. He found a way that worked for him and he stuck with it. He’s phenomenal. He’ll go down as one of the greatest of all time.”
Moore played for the Indiana Mustangs — a travel organization led by University head coach Chris Estep — from 8U to 17U.
“I have to give him so much credit,” says Moore of Estep. “He’s helped me so much through my life. I look at him as my godfather almost.”
Brock’s parents are divorced. Jeff Moore is in sales and development with Blue Horseshoe in Carmel. Karen Moore is a dental assistant at Smiles in The Village in Westfield.
Step-sister Rose Lurie is 20 and an Indiana University student.
Step-brother and welder Ben Lurie is 23 and slightly older than Ben.
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