Salt Lake Community College’s 2024-25 Bruins baseball team recently brought home the program’s first NJCAA national championship under Head Coach DG Nelson. Student Affairs celebrated the team June 5 with pizza and speeches on the Alder Plaza at Taylorsville Redwood campus.
Pitcher Dan Brousseau recounted what it was like to be in the dugout for the final play of the JUCO World Series — the moment when the SLCC’s right fielder caught a pop-up to end the game.
“We knew we were the champions,” said Brousseau, a sophomore who graduated with a degree in general education this spring. “We mobbed the field and dogpiled — one last time. Everyone was cheering. There was water everywhere.”
Not everyone who wanted to be at the game in Grand Junction, Colorado, could attend. Brett Perozzi, SLCC’s vice president for student affairs, watched with others at the home of a staff member who had access to the televised game.
“The pictures of the dogpile were amazing,” said Perozzi. “I am super proud of the coach and players.”
Brousseau believes the spirit of brotherhood was the key to the team’s success.
“We just clicked. We bonded as brothers. We were like family,” said Brousseau.
The #BruCru, as they call themselves, were underdogs in the series, being seeded No. 8. They upset No. 1 Walters State of Morristown, Tennessee, 9-6, to win the title.
Like Brousseau, Coach Nelson attributed the team’s victory to team spirit.
“They had a belief in one another and a desire to get the job done,” said Nelson. “They never let their spirits get too high or too low.”
The Bruins were the lowest-seeded team in JUCO World Series history to take home the national championship.
“When they were down, they didn’t quit,” Nelson said.
Nelson spoke at the luncheon of how humbling this experience has been.
“I think of all the teams that came before this one, players who have given the game their all,” said Nelson, who has been at SLCC for 23 years. “This win is for them, too.”
Nelson said he sees the victory as one that belongs to the entire SLCC community.
“We have ‘community’ in our name, and that is what I am proud of SLCC for — it’s a community — and part of a community,” Nelson said.
Right-fielder Hudson Manwaring also believes team spirit lifted the BruCru to victory.
“Everyone enjoyed being around each other. We just had good connections,” said Manwaring, a sophomore graduating with a degree in business.
“It was exciting [when we won]. It was unreal,” Manwaring added.
Nelson had advice for students competing in sports.
“Take care of academics first. It opens so many more doors,” Nelson said.
Nelson believes this advice could apply to all athletes — and for that matter, all students.
“If your life is in order off the field, off the court, then you can focus when you are playing,” Nelson said.
Manwaring also had some advice for students — athletes or not.
“Keep working and have confidence in yourself and your abilities,” Manwaring said.
