2023 Baseball Roster
Jersey Number 23
Branden Comia
- Position:
- INF
- Class:
- Senior
- Height:
- 5-10
- Weight:
- 190
- Hometown:
- Orland Park, Ill.
- High School:
- Carl Sandburg
 Two-Time All-Big Ten |
 University of Illinois Graduate |
Career Highs
- Hits: 4, 7x, last - at Ohio State, April 30, 2023
- Doubles: 3, vs. Northwestern, March 26, 2021
- Triples: 1, 6x, last - vs. Purdue, April 2, 2022
- Home runs: 2, vs. Michigan State, May 18, 2019
- Total bases: 9, at Penn State, May 19, 2022
- RBI: 5, at Penn State, May 19, 2022
- Runs scored: 4, at Penn State, May 19, 2022
- Walks: 3, 2x, last - vs. Michigan State, April 16, 2021
- Hit by pitch: 2, 3x, last - vs. Michigan, May 26, 2022
- Sac flies: 1, 7x, last - at Rutgers, May 13, 2023
- Sac bunts: 1, 5x, last - at Sam Houston, March 4, 2023
- At bats: 6, 13x, last - at Illinois State, April 11, 2023
- Stolen bases: 2, at Rutgers, May 13, 2023
- Field chances: 10, vs. Northwestern, March 28, 2021
- Putouts: 6, vs. Northwestern, March 28, 2021
- Assists: 7, vs. Purdue, May 10, 2019
Senior - 2023
- Slashed .282/.380/.531 with 40 runs scored, 16 doubles, 12 home runs and 44 RBI in 52 games/starts...drew 21 walks and was also hit by a pitch 13 times.
- Was one of two players to start all 52 games.
- Led the team in doubles and hit by pitch, while ranking second in runs, total bases (111) and tied for second in RBI.
- Drove in all three Illini runs on March 17 vs. Southern Illinois...had a two-run home run and a go-ahead two-out RBI-single in the eighth.
- Extended his on-base streak to 60 games after reaching safely in the first 20 games to begin the season.
- Had season-long 12-game hitting streak from April 30-May 23...went 21-for-52 (.404) with six doubles, four home runs and 14 RBI during that span.
- Hit grand slams on April 4 vs. Illinois State and on May 20 vs. UT Martin...both were go-ahead slams.
- Reach 200 career games played on May 7 vs. Michigan State.
- Finished Illini career with 247 hits, which ranks 10th all-time in program history.
Junior - 2022
- All-Big Ten Second Team
- Academic All-Big Ten
- No. 20 MLB Draft prospect in the Big Ten by D1Baseball
- No. 24 MLB Draft prospect in the Big Ten by Perfect Game
- Ranked No. 20 shortstop in the nation by D1Baseball
- Slashed .323/.419/.523/.942 in 53 games
- Was one of two players to start in all 53 games last season
- Had 19 doubles, two triples and seven home runs to go along with 50 RBI and 54 runs scored
- Matched career-high with four hits on May 19 at Penn State. Also set career-high marks in same game in runs (4) and RBI (5)
- Matched career-high with four hits on April 15 vs. Northwestern
- Had 16-game hitting streak from March 20 - April 16, going 27-for-68 (.397) with five doubles, one triple and two home runs. Had eight multi-hit games during that stretch
- Reached base safely in the final 40 games of the season
Sophomore - 2021
- All-Big Ten Third Team
- Academic All-Big Ten
- Started all 44 games at shortstop
- .323/.457/.445 with 10 2B, 3 HR, 28 RBIs, 34 R and 27 BB
- Second on the team with a .323 batting average
- Second on the team and fifth in the Big Ten with a .457 on-base percentage
- Second on the team with 10 doubles
- Second on the team with 27 walks
- Tied for second on the team with 50 hits
- Career-long 37-game on-base streak from 5/18/19-4/10/21; third longest by an Illini since 2004
- Three doubles vs. Northwestern 3/26/21; most since Jack Yalowitz at ISU 4/9/19
- .425 (17-for-40) when leading off an inning
- Preseason All-Big Ten team by Perfect Game
- No. 4 shortstop in the nation by D1Baseball
- No. 11 MLB Draft prospect in the Big Ten by D1Baseball
- No. 17 MLB Draft prospect in the Big Ten by Baseball America
- No. 29 MLB Draft prospect in the Big Ten by Perfect Game
- Rated "Best Defensive Infielder" in the Big Ten by Baseball America
- Selected to the Bobby Bragan Collegiate Slugger Award Watch List
Sophomore - 2020 (COVID-19 Shortened)
- Starting shortstop
- Ranked No. 9 shortstop in the nation by D1Baseball and No. 2 underclass shortstop
- .426/.526/.702 (20-47), 3 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 10 RBIs
- Only underclassmen shortstop in the nation to hit .400+ with an OPS of 1.200+
- 3rd in the Big Ten in OBP (.526)
- 5th in the Big Ten in slugging (.702)
- 5th in the Big Ten in batting average (.426)
- Career-high 10-game hitting streak and career-long 18-game on-base streak when the season was canceled
- Frisco Classic All-Tournament Team
- Game-winning RBI single in the eighth inning of a 1-0 win over No. 13 Texas A&M 2/28/20 at the Frisco Classic
- Career-high four hits and four RBIs against Chicago State
- No. 19 sophomore prospect in the Big Ten by D1Baseball
Freshman - 2019
- Played in 46 games with starts at second base and shortstop
- .255 (47-184), 5 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 22 RBIs
- Fourth on the team with four home runs
- Started at second base for the first 28 games for injured Michael Massey
- First career home run against Connecticut 3/3/19
- Four-hit game at Florida Atlantic 2/24/19
- .294, 5-17, 2B, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 K, BB, 2 SB during six-game foreign trip to Curaçao and Aruba
- Ranked No. 6 impact freshman in the Big Ten by D1Baseball
High School
- Played for head coach Jim Morsovillo at Carl Sandburg
- No. 13 shortstop in the nation by Prep Baseball Report
- No. 4 recruit in Illinois by Prep Baseball Report
- No. 5 recruit in Illinois by Perfect Game
- 2018 PBR All-State
- 2018 IHSA All-State
- 2018 All-American
- Four-time SWSC All-Conference
- 2018 Steven Bajenski Award Winner
- 2017 PBR All-State
- Three-time SWSC All-Conference
- Volunteered over 130 hours in high school
- Committed to Illinois in February 2016, becoming the Illini's first commit to the class
- Chose Illinois over Michigan State, Northwestern and Butler
Personal
- Born April 27, 2000
- Son of Frank and Donna Comia
- One brother, Jayden
- Majoring in business
- Aspires to become a financial adviser following his playing career
- Chose Illinois because, "it felt like home. It offers a tremendous education. The other commits feel like family to me and I believe we will be able to compete with anyone as a baseball team."
Illini Baseball | 03.18.25 Cinematic Recap vs. Indiana State
Wednesday, March 19
ILLINI BASE | Head Coach Dan Hartleb Availability (2/12/25)
Thursday, February 13
Illini Athletics | Week of Appreciation Coaches Video Dan Hartleb
Monday, December 09
Illini Baseball | Team IMPACT Signing
Friday, September 22
