Frequently, HBCU students, athletes, faculty, staff, and administrators are unaware of the existence of non-player employment opportunities in the Major League Baseball industry. This leads most university student advisors to steer their academic students and athletes towards becoming baseball players as a singular career path.
However, Alcornite alumni, Brandon Rembert, wants college students, especially HBCU students, to explore non-player job opportunities within the Major League Baseball industry.
At present, Brandon has been working as a Minor League Baseball Operations Assistant for the Pittsburgh Pirates since February 2022. He was recently promoted to Development Scout/Video Assistant for the Amateur Scouting Department for the Pirates which will take effect in 2024.
Rembert’s résumé reads like a Who’s Who nominee that included being a part of the Alcorn University baseball program from 2019-2021 with a stellar campaign in 2019 where he led the team in its batting average and on base percentage. He was named to the Pre-Season All SWAC First Team in 2020. Prior to his 2021 season, Rembert was named by Black College Nines as the 10th ranked MLB Draft Prospect in HBCU baseball while also being named again to the Pre-Season All SWAC First Team in 2021.
Brandon Rembert started out with dreams of becoming a Major League Baseball player after he finished playing outfielder during his years at Alcorn State University. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic putting a halt to all sports and a hamstring injury, Rembert was unable to pursue his dream. He decided instead to take the time during the pandemic to obtain his master’s degree in Athletic Administration & Coaching from Alcorn. This allowed him time to investigate other opportunities in the MLB industry.
In 2022, Rembert landed his first job with the Pirates as Operations Assistant, utilizing his numerous years of experience as a player and leveraging that experience to work in the MLB. His career started as a young boy playing T-ball. Then it continued as a high school baller where Rembert attended Booker T. Washington High School in Pensacola, Florida. He also worked as a head coach with a 9u baseball travel team in 2022. In his first year with the Pirates, he was based out of the Dominican Republic working with the Dominican Republic Academy. In his second year, he worked with the Pirates low-A affiliate team in Bradenton, Florida.
In a personal interview with the Jackson Advocate, Rembert expressed, “I want my fellow HBCU students to be aware that there are other jobs in the major leagues that don’t require one to be an active player. There are jobs within the industry that lend itself to academic majors such as sports psychology, accounting, business management, security, sports medicine, sports/broadcast journalism, and public relations that are not often highlighted as students choose their careers during undergraduate and graduate pursuits.
“I know that when I was a player in high school and even in college, I only had eyes on being a famous baseball player, not being aware that there are other good jobs that often allow you to travel with the professional teams and still allow you to be close to the action on the field. I feel right now while I’m still a young 25-year-old, I can relate to high school and college students as they are exploring career paths. I would love to talk with these students and give them firsthand accounts and exposure to the opportunity that I have been given with the Pittsburgh Pirates.”
Rembert is open to speaking with students by request and would love to come to Mississippi at some point in the near future. To contact Brandon Rembert, please email him at brandonrembertbusiness@gmail.com and LinkedIn.
