‘I love my life now’

After big moments in baseball, The Bachelorette, NL-S graduate finds sweet spot with his music 

By Scott Thoma

New London native Brady Toops has seen and done more things in his 43 years of life than many people do in an entire lifetime.

Brady Toops performing at a venue in Nashville. Toops’ budding musical career is coming after a minor league baseball career and an appearance on The Bachelor. Contributed photo

Toops, a former minor league baseball catcher in the St. Louis Cardinals’ system, is now living his dream in Nashville as a singer who just released his third full-length album.

He has admittedly slowed his pace lately, though, feeling he needed to stop and smell the roses.

“It just seems like my life has always been on a stage and I needed to take some time for myself and enjoy the little things more,” he said. “My (triplet) brother, Casey, lives only a block from me here in Nashville and has a wife and two kids, so I spend time being an uncle to them. I go for walks every day now and I can take time to listen to the birds and things I never seemed to have time for before.”

It’s understandable what Toops means when he expresses his feelings of “being on a stage.” The 2000 New London-Spicer High School graduate was valedictorian of his class and a three-sport athlete. Most notably, baseball scouts marveled at his prowess behind the plate as a catcher. During his senior year, Toops was chosen All-State in baseball. Former Minnesota Twins great and first-ballot Hall of Famer Joe Mauer was selected as the All-State catcher that year as a junior. Because Toops was such a standout player, voters felt he deserved to be on the All-State team too, so they selected him as the first All-State designated hitter.

The left-hand hitting catcher was sought after by several Division I and II colleges, including Harvard, the University of Minnesota, and the University of Arkansas.

Playing for Arkansas in 2004. Contributed photo

“My dad (George) and I took a trip to Arkansas to watch a weekend series and it didn’t take too much convincing for me to go there after that,” Toops said. “The atmosphere at Baum Stadium is second to none.”

Toops would have received a full-ride baseball scholarship had it not been that he already was given a full-ride academic scholarship.

In his senior year at Arkansas in 2004, Toops, a two-time captain, was involved in one of the most dramatic games in school history and helped propel the program to one of the highest attended among Division I baseball teams.

The Razorbacks had high hopes of qualifying for the College World Series and were playing at their home park, Baum Stadium in Fayetteville. Locked in a 6-6 tie and facing elimination, Wichita State scored three times in the bottom of the eighth inning to take a 9-6 lead.

“I remember thinking that my college career was likely over at that point,” said Toops, who was assured that he would go on to the next level as a high draft choice by a Major League Baseball team. “I was scheduled to be the seventh hitter up in the ninth inning, so I thought I was probably done playing for Arkansas.”

The Razorback cut the deficit to 9-7 and had runners on first and second and two outs. Suddenly, Toops found himself on deck and hoping to get another chance. At the plate was a freshman facing a tough Wichita State pitcher.

Hitting a grand slam home run for Arkansas against Wichita State in the ninth inning in the college baseball regional playoffs in 2004. Contributed photo

“I was thinking that if he strikes out, I won’t get mad because I’ve been in that situation before,” Toops said.

Instead, the Razorback batter drew a walk and Toops was now due up with the bases loaded. Not known as a home-run hitter, as evidenced by only hitting nine in his entire collegiate career, the .300 hitter just wanted to hit the ball hard somewhere.

“I was so nervous,” he admitted. “People that had left the game in the eighth inning and were in their cars, came back into the stadium when they heard we were rallying. It was so loud in there. I was wondering how I could get out of this moment.”

As he strolled to the plate, Toops remembered something his father always told him: “See a good pitch and hit it.”

“This was my moment,” Toops said. “This what was I was born to do.”

Promotional photo of Brady Toops for one of his recent concerts.  Contributed photo

On the first pitch, Toops was thrown a change-up away, a pitch that generally had been troublesome for him. He swung at it anyway and made contact. It felt good coming off the bat, he said.

“When you hit a baseball on the ‘sweet spot,’ you know it right away,” said Toops. “I saw the left fielder going into the gap and as I started running, said to myself ‘Get over his head, get over his head.’ I saw him hit the wall and fall on the warning track.”

The ball sailed over the fence, putting the Razorbacks ahead 11-9 as the stadium erupted, including his parents and siblings.

“My dad was video-taping the game and you could hear him and my mom (Kim) crying,” Toops said with a laugh.

Arkansas set Wichita State down in order in the bottom of the ninth to secure the win.

Arkansas then needed to beat Wichita State again in the double-elimination tournament, which they did, 4-3, and advanced to the Super Regional against Florida State the following weekend. That game, too, was at Baum Stadium, and set attendance records. Arkansas defeated Florida State twice 7-5 and 4-2 to advance to the eight-team College World Series in Omaha.

The No. 8 Razorbacks lost to No. 1 ranked Texas 13-2 and then to Arizona, 7-2, in the tournament.

Toops was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 10th round in 2004. His stint in the minor leagues would only last three years, though, before he was given his release after the 2006 season.

Toops then turned to music, which was another passion of his. He taught himself the guitar in college, and while in the minor leagues he had a friend that sent him lyrics that he set to music.

“I’ve always loved music. I used to sing at the top of my lungs all the time in our house when I was a little kid,” he said. “It really annoyed my siblings.”

Brady Toops performing at a festival. Contributed photo

Toops’ music career began in 2008 and he moved to Nashville the following year. His first full-length studio album, Brady Toops, was released on August 27, 2013. His second album, Tried & True, was released on March 11, 2017. He just completed his third album, Her, which will be released soon. Two singles from that album, “Mixed Messages” and “Ghost” have already been released.

In 2015, Toops appeared in Season 11 of The Bachelorette after a friend of his in Nashville thought he would be perfect for the show and submitted his name.

“It was a six-month process before I was chosen to be on the show,” Toops said. “I had several interviews, had to send in videos and photos of myself, they did background checks on me, and a lot of other things.”

Toops finally was flown to Los Angeles, and after meeting with producers of the show, was chosen to be on the show. His stay on the show, however, was short-lived. That season, for the first time, the show tried something new and had two bachelorettes — Kaitlyn Bristowe and Britt Nilsson — with Toops and the other 24 men on the show meeting each of the girls and then voting for the one they wanted as the bachelorette by dropping a single rose in their voting box.

Toops knew all along that he had a crush on Britt, even back when he watched her on The Bachelor.

When Kaitlyn was voted to be the Season 11 bachelorette, Toops was shown on TV asking the producer of the show if he could speak privately with Kaitlyn.

Brady Toops and Britt Nilsson on the Bachelorette in 2015. Contributed photo

“I went into a room with her and told her I thought she was amazing, but that I was only on the show for Britt,” said Toops. “I stole a line from the Goodwill Hunting movie and told her ‘I’ve got to see about a girl’ and she told me to ‘Go for it.’”

By then, Britt had left the show and had gone back to her hotel. Toops was driven there, knocked on her door and asked if he could come in and talk with her. When permission was granted, he sat down and told her about his feelings for her. The two dated for a few months, with some of their dates taped by the show, and the romance played out for viewers during the rest of that Bachelorette season.

The breakup was hard for Toops, who then focused on his music again. He’s played festivals all over the United States and also has traveled to play in other countries such as Australia, New Zealand, England, and Hong Kong.

He had recently scaled back his music in order to take time for other things. He now owns and manages an Airbnb in Nashville, while still being involved in his music.

“I felt I missed a lot in life,” he said. “I love my life now and feel like I am able to appreciate my friends and family and other nuances of my life more. Music is a passion again and not a vocation. There is something about the simple things in life that are so beautiful.”