After this past baseball season, odds are you know the name Brue Milner.
Having already started his high school career off with a bang when he led the Tigers in batting average, hits, doubles and RBIs as a freshman. The sophomore year was much of the same, if not better.
This season Milner, again, sat atop the team with a .489 batting average and an on-base percentage of .607. He also led with 45 hits, 15 doubles, 5 home runs and a dominant 40 RBIs en route to Tallassee’s appearance in the third round of the AHSAA Class 4A baseball playoffs. At catcher, Milner posted a .979 fielding percentage while only having four errors in the process.
For his performance this year, Milner is the 2025 Elmore County Baseball Player of the Year.
Milner is not only making a name for himself on the local level being one of the top players in the area, but has now found himself slipping into the national spotlight. In the recent rankings by Prep Baseball, Milner is ranked as the No. 5 overall player in Alabama for the Class of 2027 while also being No. 1 at his position.
Of course, Milner’s natural talents have helped him progress to where he is now but in the eyes of Tallassee baseball coach John Goodman, it’s his work ethic.
“He puts in the time,” Goodman said. “You can still see some youth in him. And sometimes we have to sit back and say, ‘Well, he is just a sophomore.’ But, he works extremely hard. He works in the little things to make the big things better.”
Milner attributes his work ethic early on coming from his dad, Brent Milner, who was also a standout baseball player at Tallassee. But as Brue progressed to where he is now, he saw where baseball could take him.
“When I was younger, my dad always pushed me,” Milner said. “And then as I got older and started seeing all the success and stuff, it started making me more self driven, and made me want to do it more myself, and kind of from there.”
Even while being an underclassmen, Milner's success at the plate has rubbed off on his teammates. Goodman already regarded him as one of the more vocal leaders on the team but backed it up even more on the field.
“We were senior loaded this year,” Goodman said. “When you got a young kid that goes out there and is working as hard as he does, everybody else follows suit. Even though he is a sophomore he does what it takes to lead the team.”
File / TPI Tallassee sophomore Brue Milner led the Tigers with .489 batting average and five home runs. He is the 2025 Elmore County Player of the Year.
Milner is already in good standing to progress to even higher levels before his high school career is over. Baseball has become a year round event for him, from showcases to his contribution in travel ball to help elevate his game.
“There really is no offseason to be honest,” Milner said. “I mean, it's always year round. Like right now, I'm going to another showcase and I just got done with that MLB showcase (Monday). It's year round for me. I love it. It's what I want to do, and it's just a lot of work, but it's worth it.”