Brad Pippa
(Baseball, 2005)
This two-sport athlete excelled in both baseball and basketball, 2024 Danbury
High School Hall of Fame inductee, Brad Pippa. As a freshman, Brad averaged seven
points per game in varsity basketball and was a starter in ten of twenty games. In
baseball his freshman year, Brad led the Hatters in batting average, hits and homeruns,
Brad was starter at either catcher or short stop for all 24 games.
Sophomore year was an amazing year for Brad and his teammates. He was part
of the first FCIAC baseball championship in school history. Brad started every game and
was third on his team in hits. He was selected to the Connecticut Fall All-Star team with
the Pirates Scouting team. Brad led the Hatter’s basketball team in scoring while
starting all 22 games. He led the team in three-points field goals.
It would be hard to top the Hatter’s baseball accolades from the previous season,
but they did. During his junior baseball season, Brad was part of DHS’s first baseball
state championship. Brad was named first team All-State and All-FCIAC. Brad pitched
to a 0.69 ERA, led the team in homeruns and RBI’s and had seven saves. In basketball
Brad was All-West FCIAC, Honorable mention All-State and led the team in three-
pointers made and points per game. Brad also participated in the Junior All-Star game
for the Connecticut Risers.
During his senior baseball season, Brad pitched to a 1.57 ERA with four saves.
He was named All-State first team and All-FCIAC. Brad played in the Connecticut All-
State annual game against Massachusetts at Fenway Park. He has a career batting
average of over .400 for his four-year playing career at DHS. During his senior
basketball season, Brad averaged 22 points per game and was second in team
rebounding. The Hatter’s basketball coach at that time, Tom Pardalis, said of Brad’s
shooting, “Our 22 out-of-bounds play was specifically developed for Brad to shoot it
from the weak-side corner.” And shoot it, he did, scoring an amazing 992 points during
his four year DHS basketball career.
After his graduation from Danbury High School, Brad continued his academic
and athletic career at Stetson University on a baseball scholarship. He was part of two
A-Sun Championship teams playing in the NCAA Regionals: one at Georgia Tech and
one at Florida State. While at Stetson he hit .266, starting over 75 games as catcher.
His teammates included two eventual Cy Young winners, Jacob DeGrom and Corey
Kluber. After a medical Redshirt year, Brad played two years at Tennessee Wesleyan,
hitting .375 with 35 home runs. He was part of two Appalachian Conference
Championships. The team made its first ever College World Series appearance in
Lewiston, Idaho, finishing number seven in the country his senior year. He was also
team captain.