Thorpe to play at Blue Mountain Christian

RUSSELLVILLE – Brennon Thorpe made his plans official to attend Blue Mountain Christian University and play baseball for the Toppers during a recent signing ceremony.

BMC University is a NAIA institution and a member of the Southern States Athletic Conference.

Family, friends, teammates and coaches joined Thorpe for the event at RHS.

The outfielder recently completed his senior year as a Golden Tiger and was a leader on the Russellville squad that finished the 2025 season with a 25-12 record.

The opportunity to continue playing baseball came after a lot of hard work for Thorpe after he suffered serious knee injuries while playing football.

“I popped my knee out twice and it broke it, and I had to get a donor for my kneecap and then a donor for all my ligaments,” Thorpe explained. “I had to rehab that for about two years before I could come back.”

“Brennon’s journey to get here is what makes this day so special,” RHS head coach Jess Smith said. “I remember right when I got back to Russellville, and I was watching a JV football game and seeing Brennon undergo the injuries that he did. The adversity that he experienced to get to this point, not a lot of people have endured that type of hardship especially at that early of an age.”

Thorpe’s positive attitude throughout recovery during his freshman and sophomore years, and his effort to improve during his time at RHS, impressed the coaching staff and team.

“All of his teammates know the hardest worker in the room every day is this guy,” Smith said of Thorpe during the signing ceremony. “I think everyone has seen the transformation that he has worked for whether it be his body or his game and just who he is off the field, including who he was in the locker room and the classroom. A term that has been associated with this program for the last decade or so would be ‘uncommon’ and I think Brennon exemplifies that in every category.”

Thorpe will be heading to Blue Mountain to join the Toppers and the student- athlete who many call “Duck” is excited about the opportunity.

“It means a lot to be able to play at the next level and continue playing baseball,” he said. “They have a nice campus, a really nice field, I like the coaches a lot and it just seemed like a good fit,” Thorpe said.

He plans to study business at Blue Mountain.