State College Native Brenden Franks Makes Penn State Baseball’s 35-Man Roster

State College native Brenden Franks has officially been added to Penn State baseball’s 35-man roster, the team announced with a heartwarming video on Saturday.

In the video, Franks was presented a t-shirt during a conditioning drill and then mobbed by his teammates before embracing head coach Rob Cooper and his family.

Surprise scholarship announcements are fairly standard practice for the football team, which has 85 scholarship players and 30-40 more walk-ons. The fact that college baseball only allows for 35 rostered players made Saturday’s surprise announcement for Franks even more special.

With a strict, NCAA-mandated 35-man roster limit, it’s particularly difficult to make a D1 college baseball team.

Congratulations to State College’s own @bendyfranks! #DiamondLions pic.twitter.com/C6XloBq13i

— Penn State Baseball (@PennStateBASE) November 2, 2019

Franks is a freshman who graduated from State High this past spring. He was an infielder and pitcher during his high school career, and he was listed as the 10th-best third baseman in Pennsylvania, according to PerfectGame.org.

The freshman joins a Nittany Lion squad that finished with a 22-27 record last season. He will add some depth to a Penn State team that lost six key players to graduation this past spring, including star infielder Conlin Hughes.