The batting stance certainly is unorthodox.

But it hasn’t kept Dagen Brewer from becoming one of the best baseball hitters in Pittsburg State and MIAA history.

Brewer, 5-foot-10, 185-pound senior left fielder, currently holds the MIAA triple crown this season with a .436 batting average, 24 home runs and 101 runs batted in. He also leads the league in slugging percentage (.976), on-base percentage (.575) and walks (57).

The 101 RBI establishes new conference and school records, and his 37-game hitting streak is another MIAA and PSU record.

Brewer leads the conference batting race by 9 points over Drake Lee of Central Oklahoma, the home run race by seven over Jeremiah Cabuyaba of Northwest Missouri and the RBI race by 22 over teammate Isaac Webb.

Another Gorilla, Eric Bacon, is 33 RBI behind Brewer and third in the MIAA. Bacon, Brewer and Webb bat 2-3-4 in the PSU lineup.

“That’s helped tremendously,” Brewer said. “Coming back, Coach (Brock Buckingham) told me I got guys around you and they’re going to help you out tremendously.

“They’ve done an amazing job. I can’t be more thankful for all the opportunities around me this year.”

Many people wonder how Brewer can put up such big numbers with his batting stance, which starts with the barrel of his bat pointing toward the pitcher.

It all began when he played at Johnson County Community College in 2023.

“I got into juco, and I was struggling with the (velocity) aspect of it,” Brewer said. “My swing, I wasn’t in the zone long enough.

“At my juco, shoutout to coach (Michael) Yeager, he helped me out a lot with that. He put my hands back. But sometimes I would lose it up in height-wise. My hands would get up too high. I pointed the barrel down so I could visualize it … then I knew it was in the right place every time.”

“It doesn’t look the best, but it’s been working a little bit for me. … It helps let my hands get back and helps with power and getting in the zone longer.”

Working a little bit for me is an understatement bigger than some of his numbers.

For his four-year career, Brewer is batting .410 with 76 home runs and 324 runs batted in. Fifty-three percent (154-of-288) of his hits have gone for extra bases, and while he seldom gets cheated on a swing, he has more walks (132) than strikeouts (104).

“That’s kind of a timing mechanism really,” Gorillas coach Brock Buckingham said. “Once he gets loaded, he gets in a really good spot. People say well, he starts messed up. Yes, he does, but once he lifts that leg, he gets in a really good spot.”

Brewer was named player of the year in the Jayhawk League East as a sophomore and MIAA this season. His production has been the result of a lot of work since a young age.

“My dad (Matt) pushed me when I was younger,” Brewer said. “It’s always don’t get outworked by anyone. Stay in the cage as long as possible and try to work harder than everyone else.”

Buckingham, former assistant coach at Cowley County, played against Brewer in junior college.

“I knew he could really hit,” Buckingham said. “He hit against us and gave us fits. He’s one of the best hitters I’ve seen.”

And now, Buckingham is thrilled to write Brewer’s name on his lineup card.