Part 1 (Storm Wilson) – Part 2 (JaVon Shelby) – Part 3 (Kyle Barrett) – Part 4 (Andrew Nelson) – Part 5 (Thomas Bernal)As a high school star in Seymour, Indiana, Zack Brown was a two-way player. He only worked around 50 innings off the mound in his career at Seymour High School, tossing just enough to earn the single-season ERA record (0.54). That was enough for Kentucky recruiting coordinator Brad Bohannon to spot a potential electric right-handed arm in the making. After his Seymour career, Brown was a 38th-round pick in the 2013 MLB Draft by the Chicago Cubs, spurning the offer to begin his professional career in favor of his collegiate ambitions at UK. During the fall and preseason of his freshman year, Brown flashed potential with a high-velocity fastball and the makings of one of the best breaking balls on the pitching staff, with a change-up rounding out his pitch arsenal. Kentucky coach Gary Henderson handled Brown carefully for the first two weeks of the year, with Brown making his collegiate debut in a rout of St. Joseph’s. He worked one shutout innings, working around a walk. After tossing another shutout frame in his home debut, Brown worked innings vs. Eastern Michigan and Ball State, before making his Southeastern Conference debut in UK’s opener of SEC play. Brown needed just two pitches to get the final out vs. Alabama, earning praise from Henderson for continued strides in his development. But it was not until April 15, when the Wildcats were facing off with their rival, No. 9 Louisville in the River City that he showed his breakout ability. Brown and fellow freshman hurler Logan Salow combined to handcuff the Cardinals for the first of UK’s two midweek wins over the Cardinals. Brown worked 2.1 shutout frames, allowing just one hit – a double – and striking out three. “I would say that my outing at Louisville,” Brown said about the moment that he knew he belonged at the highest level. “Salow and I came in from the pen and did a good job. That is when I felt like I belonged. I had struggled up until then and just made small appearances up here and there. That is when I extended my outing and took that next step.”A 6-foot-2, 200-pounder, Brown then became a fixture in the UK pitching staff. He made his first career start in a comeback win over Tennessee Tech, in a matchup of the nation’s No. 1 and No. 2 offenses. Brown battled through three innings in an unprecedented wind blowing out to leftfield, allowing three solo homers. After that start, he made a pair of strong relief outings vs. No. 12 Ole Miss and Auburn, before making a scoreless start at Murray State. Despite working 2.2 shutout frames, Brown was lifted in the third inning after reaching his 50-pitch mark, in an effort to save him for a potential weekend start at Georgia. UK did in fact turn to Brown to start the regular-season finale at Georgia, with UK looking for its first sweep in Athens in 32 years. The Bulldogs, who had been shutout in the first two games of the series, got four runs on seven hits off Brown but UK called again on him in a tight spot in the SEC Tournament. With UK winning the first two games in the tournament, while using four starting pitchers to combine for the first two games, the Wildcats turned to Brown to make a start in the biggest spot of his career. Brown worked 3.2 innings vs. No. 17 Mississippi State, starting what would become the longest game played in the history of the SEC Tournament. Brown allowed one run in the start, as UK rallied to post a 12-inning win on Zach Arnold’s walk-off single. The following week, in an elimination game in the NCAA Louisville Regional, Brown made his fifth career start. “I just knew that pitching was a little depleted from the previous games and knew I needed to work some quality innings for our team,” Brown said. “My mentality was just to pound the strike zone. Let them hit it and see how many innings I could work for us.”He worked five one-run innings vs. Kansas, with UK holding a large lead before he exited with the bases loaded in the sixth inning, with all three runs scoring off the UK bullpen. It marked the first win of Brown’s young career. Following the season, Brown ventured to the Perfect Game Collegiate League to play with UK teammates Marcus Carson, Connor Heady and JaVon Shelby. He worked 36 innings with a 3.75 ERA during the summer, striking out 34. “It was really neat with JaVon and Marcus and Connor up there for a little bit,” Brown said. “It was good to play with some kids from around the country and get some more experience out there. I just felt like it was really productive and I did some things I needed to work on. I got a lot better.”In addition to the physical development a pitcher takes under Henderson at Kentucky, the mental approach to the game is a big priority under the well-rounded coach. “Coming here I never really was just a pitcher,” Brown said. “I think I threw just 50 innings in high school so it was a different world. Having coach Henderson help you along the entire ways is a big thing. His personality is a very straight forward approach. Sometimes you aren’t going to like what he says but it’s the truth and that is what you really need to hear. That fits with my personality really well. Everyone is going to run into some trouble, and you have to fight through it with some adversity, but coach Henderson is there with you the whole way.” For a pitcher that surrendered a bevy of seeing-eye, 10-hoppers through the infield, managing the inevitable failure that comes with the sport is crucial. “I still have strides to go with that,” Brown said about the mental approach. “From last year it is immensely different, the game is much slower to me now then it was a year ago. I am more confident then I was. I am able to make pitches that I wasn’t able to make last year. Everything is just slowing down for me.” When he returned to campus for the fall of 2014, Brown was no longer flashing signs of his ability. The ability was no longer projection, it was there. “Last year there was no change-up and my fastball was flat,” Brown said. “This year I have a lot of movement on my fastball. Change-up is coming along great. Curveball has always been there, I’ve just struggled to locate it at times. I just feel a lot more confident to throw anything at any count.”