Kristopher Lee Bryant (born January 4, 1992), nicknamed "KB", is an American professional baseball third baseman and outfielder for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants. Prior to playing professionally, Bryant attended the University of San Diego, where he played college baseball for the Toreros.
Bryant starred in baseball for Bonanza High School. In college, he was named an All-American in 2012 and 2013, and won the Dick Howser Trophy and Golden Spikes Award in 2013. The Cubs selected him with the second overall selection in the 2013 MLB draft, and he quickly became one of the top prospects in baseball, winning the USA Today Minor League Player of the Year Award and Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year Award in 2014.
Bryant made his major league debut in 2015. He was named an MLB All-Star and won the National League's (NL) Rookie of the Year Award. He was again named an All-Star in 2016, won a World Series championship with the Cubs, and was named the NL's Most Valuable Player. The Cubs traded him to the Giants in 2021, and he then signed a seven-year contract with the Rockies prior to the 2022 season.
Early life
Bryant attended Bonanza High School in Las Vegas, Nevada. Playing for the school's varsity baseball team all four years, he recorded a .418 batting average, a .958 slugging percentage (SLG), 103 hits, and 47 career home runs. He also played American Legion Baseball. USA Today named him to their All-USA baseball first-team in 2010. The Toronto Blue Jays selected Bryant in the 18th round of the 2010 Major League Baseball draft. He did not sign, and enrolled at the University of San Diego, to play college baseball for the San Diego Toreros baseball team.
College career
As a freshman at the University of San Diego in 2011, Bryant had a .365 batting average, a .482 on-base percentage (OBP), and a .599 SLG, with nine home runs. He was named a freshman All-American by Louisville Slugger and the West Coast Conference (WCC) Co-Freshman of the Year and Co-Player of the Year, sharing both honors with Marco Gonzales. Following his freshman season at San Diego, Bryant played collegiate summer baseball for the Chatham Anglers of the Cape Cod Baseball League, where he batted 29-for-130 (.223) with three home runs and 16 runs batted in (RBIs).
As a sophomore in 2012, Bryant batted .366 with a .671 SLG, 14 home runs, and 57 RBIs. He was again named first team All-WCC and he was also named a first-team All-American by Baseball America. That summer, Bryant was selected by USA Baseball to play for the United States collegiate national team.
In the 2013 season as a junior, Bryant hit 31 home runs to lead the nation. Bryant had the most home runs hit by a college player since the NCAA switched to a BBCOR composite bat in 2011. Bryant broke the previous record of 30 set by Georgia Southern's Victor Roache in 2011 and amounted to more home runs than 223 of 296 Division I teams hit that season. Bryant won the Golden Spikes Award and the Dick Howser Trophy, which are both awarded to the top collegiate player in the nation. He was also named a Louisville Slugger First Team All-American, the Collegiate Baseball Player of the Year, and the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Player of the Year.
Professional career
Draft and minor leagues
Bryant was considered to be one of the best available players in the 2013 Major League Baseball draft. The Houston Astros, who had the first overall pick, scouted Bryant. Bryant believed he would be chosen by the Colorado Rockies, who had the third selection of the draft.
After the Astros selected pitcher Mark Appel with the first overall selection, the Chicago Cubs chose Bryant with the second pick. This choice was surprising as the Cubs were expected to select a pitcher. The Cubs later acknowledged that they would have selected Appel had he still been available. Many baseball executives and scouts agreed that Bryant was the safest pick in the draft. He was also rated as the best hitter in the draft because of his abilities hitting for power and making contact on inside fastballs as well as down-and-away curveballs. Bryant and the Cubs came to terms on a contract with a $6.7 million signing bonus two days prior to the signing deadline.
