Meet the Former Fresno State Baseball Player Who is Now a Country Music Star

I love music. And I especially love music that speaks to me. Some songs just hit a nerve. Depending on what’s going on in your life at that time, you can hear a song and feel like it was written for you. Right? I know you’ve all been there.

Back in August, I was listening to Sirius XM’s The Highway, a country music channel, when a new song caught my ear. It was called “In Case You Didn’t Know” by some guy I had never heard of – Brett Young. I instantly fell in love with it.

After Googling him, I came across a very exciting revelation: He went to Fresno State!

fresno state country star — Country singer Brett Young went to Fresno State and has released a self-titled debut album.

A Return to Fresno

Brett Young was a pitcher for the Fresno State baseball team. He suffered a career-ending injury while playing for the Bulldogs in 2003. The Orange County native turned to music after realizing his dreams of playing professional baseball were over.

This year, to celebrate the release of his self-titled debut album, the up-and-coming country music star made a return to the Central Valley.

In February, he held a free concert and autograph signing at Walmart in Clovis. I was of course there!

Young talked about playing ball at Fresno State. He reminisced about writing songs at Millerton Lake and said that even after moving back to Southern California, he would return to Fresno to play weekly gigs at Yosemite Ranch.

From Walmart to Madison Square Garden

In 2014, Young moved to Nashville. Since the release of his album last month, his music is getting frequent play on country radio across the nation.

And it seems his Walmart concert days may already be behind him. He is currently the opening act for megastar Luke Bryan, and he got to play at Madison Square Garden earlier this month.

In May, he’ll go on tour with Thomas Rhett and then this summer he’ll hit the road with Lady Antebellum. Young also was recently nominated for the 2017 ACM Awards as New Male Vocalist of the Year.

The Self-Titled Album

I’ve been jamming to Young’s record since I bought it – there’s not a bad song on it. Many of its twelve songs are about the ups and downs of love.

At the Clovis concert, Young said that his song, “You Ain’t Here to Kiss Me,” was inspired by a New Year’s Eve break-up with a girlfriend of six years.