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Baseball’s Nuri Todd to Sign with Long Beach State

10/11/2022

Senior baseball player Nuri Todd will sign to play baseball and attend Long Beach State University on signing day next month.

“Long Beach State was the first school to offer me,” said Todd. “They offered me a great opportunity, they were interested in me and showed they believed in me by offering me so young. I was willing to believe in them.”

Todd received his offer during his sophomore season. He will make an official visit to the campus Nov. 4-5. The Dirtbags have made 22 NCAA Tournament appearances and four College World Series appearances in school history.

“They were ranked in the Top 25, and I feel the coaches aligned with how I thought, and my coaches agreed it was a good place for me,” said Todd.

He will play for Head Coach Eric Valenzuela, who has led the program since 2019. The Dirtbags were ranked as high as No. 12 in the nation under his tutelage in 2020 and have produced nine Major League Baseball draft picks.

Todd was introduced to the game of baseball by his grandfather and former MLB player Larry Herndon. He had a 14-year career with the San Francisco Giants and Detroit Tigers before coaching with the Tigers. He was a member of the 1984 World Series winning team.

“My grandfather played baseball and I lived with him until I was five years old,” recalled Todd. “He got me into the sport, and I have played it ever since. I have a lot of memories stored up from that time. He was coaching in MLB and coaching me at the same time.”

Todd has also learned from his current coach, Josh Garcia ‘07, and is looking forward to his senior season.

“Playing for Coach Garcia has been an amazing experience,” said Todd. “He has helped develop me, especially mentally, over the past few years. He has pushed me to be my best. If everyone buys into what he says, we are going to have a great team. It has been great playing for Brophy, and I have been able to develop into my highest potential.”

Todd, who plans to study interior design or engineering, had his freshman year cut short by CoVID. He had a big sophomore year on the JV team, helping the team to a 15-3 record while hitting .418. As a junior, he started at shortstop for the Broncos, led the team in steals with 13 without being caught, and had a .405 on-base percentage.

“Last year was my first year on Varsity and I hit my first home run as a sophomore,” said Todd. “That was a great moment. However, last year we had a ton of walk-offs. We had one against Basha. Trailing 3-2, I walked to start the inning. Diaz hit a two-run bomb on top of the Great Hall. The place went wild. It is a memory I will never forget.”

Garcia, who played and coached at the University of Arizona after his Brophy career, is high on his shortstop and his prospects.

“The minute Nuri Todd stepped foot on campus our school and baseball program got better,” said Garcia. “He's mature, he is loyal, he is a natural leader, and he possesses all the intangibles a coach wants in a player. Nuri brings so much value to a team in more ways than just stats. He has a great baseball skill set, but his make-up alone can change a program.”

He will participate in the Brophy Signing Day Celebration on November 9.

This is the first in a series of stories on Brophy seniors and their commitments leading up to Signing Day.