Athlete Spotlight: Centralia Native Broc Selstrom Signs With Division-II McPherson College

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LONGVIEW — Broc Selstrom has always found success in baseball. So it’s no surprise he’s now heading to McPherson College in Kansas to compete in Division-II baseball. Selstrom, a 2018 Centralia grad, announced his commitment to McPherson College on Twitter April 11.

It comes on the heels of two seasons as a right-handed reliever for Northwest Athletic Conference powerhouse Lower Columbia College.

Growing up in Centralia, Selstrom also played football and golf but it was always baseball that he excelled at the most. He won tournament MVP while helping his little league team win the district championship as a 12-year-old. Two years later his 14-and-under Babe Ruth squad won the state championship. Selstrom went on to become a three-year letterman in baseball for the Tigers. It just seems natural that he’s heading to a Division-II team after two years at a junior college.

“It was always the plan but I never saw myself doing it until now,” Selstrom said. “It’s always been the goal. It’s kind of crazy. After I signed, I was just kind of stunned, you know? Shocked that I’m moving halfway across our country to play baseball. I want to get out there and get away from Centralia just a little bit.”

It all came about during an intrasquad scrimmage game this past fall where a couple college coaches were in attendance. Selstrom happened to be throwing while a scout for McPherson was there, who liked what he saw in the right hander, particularly Selstrom’s arm angle and speed. The two kept in contact and a couple months later he offered Selstrom a scholarship.

Selstrom will be bringing four pitches to Kansas: four-seam and two-seam fastballs, a curve and a changeup. His fastballs have a lot of movement on them and are his best pitches. 

He didn’t take pitching seriously until he was 15 years old and was never a power pitcher until he arrived at Lower Columbia. He hits the 89-91 mph range frequently, a marked increase from his senior season when he topped out at 86-87. His freshman year in college was also a big change in that he made the switch from being a starter to a reliever.

Selstrom had been Centralia’s ace his senior season, posting a 3-3 record with a 3.33 ERA and 25 strikeouts. He was also a second-team all-2A Evergreen Conference infielder as a first baseman.

He redshirted his freshman year after suffering a stress fracture in his elbow and a small labrum tear that forced him to miss the entire season.



“It wasn’t anything too serious, I just took the year off to make sure my arm wasn’t super bad the rest of my career,” Selstrom said.

Selstrom realized the injury wasn’t from overuse, it was from his delivery. Growing up, he’d developed a habit of throwing with his upper body and not utilizing his legs enough. It ended up putting unnecessary stress on his arm.

Lower Columbia coaches began working with him on his delivery to take full advantage of his leg torque, which was especially crucial for the 6-foot-4, 240 pounder. Head coach Eric Lane and assistant coach Ian Sanderson taught Selstrom to compose himself on the mound. In high school, if he didn’t get a call everyone in the stands could tell he was upset. Frustration shows easily when a pitcher is front and center on the mound, Selstrom said. Now he’s learned to stay calm and not let his emotions show during the game. His control improved, as well, and he saw a drop in wild pitches.

“Even though I didn’t get to play as much as I wanted to, I feel like I’ve become twice as better of a pitcher as I was in high school,” Selstrom said. 

He appeared in two games in 2020 as the Red Devils’ season was cut short. He struck out five while allowing five walks, three hits and two earned runs in two innings.

“The role change was kind of difficult for me,” Selstrom said. “I came in as a starter and was kind of getting warmed up to it. But when you’re playing college baseball you have to be at your best when you go out there. Just getting into the mentality faster. You never know when you’re going to get called.”

Now he’ll be joining a McPherson baseball team that went 18-7 overall in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference before the season was canceled on March 14 due to the coronavirus outbreak. McPherson College is located about 60 miles northwest of Wichita, Kansas’ largest city.

“I’m just excited about seeing a new baseball program, meeting new coaches, meeting new guys,” Selstrom said. “The day-to-day life. That’s what I live for.”