Park College Athletics

Jay Bruer played on the Parkland baseball team from 1997-1999. As a freshman, Bruer was a finalist for the Parkland Baseball Student Athlete of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and the Cobra Spirit Award. He started 33 of 37 games before a season-ending injury.

As a sophomore, he was named to the Region 24 All-Star team after the fall season. He led the team in batting average (.439), hits, runs, walks, and stolen bases. In the spring season, Bruer was named to the All-Region 24 team (Pre-Season), Second Team All-Region, and was an NJCAA Distinguished Academic All-American. He was selected to the All-Conference team, All-Academic team, and was the Player of the Year Runner-Up. Bruer was a team captain and received the Student-Athlete Award and Cobra Spirit Award. On the Parkland baseball team, he was named the Most Valuable Hitter and Most Valuable Player. Bruer led the team in hits (78), runs scored (65), doubles (18), and stolen bases (18). He was also in the top three in batting average (.353), walks, and RBI’s. In his career at Parkland, Bruer had a .342 batting average. He produced 105 hits, 84 runs, and 46 RBI. 

Bruer was also a walk-on for the 1998-1999 Parkland basketball team. He averaged nearly 11 points a game and led the team in assists. He earned a full-ride scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, where he averaged 39 minutes per game in the 2000-2001 season and made Second Team All-Conference in the 2001-2002 season. Bruer also held the career 3-point percentage (41%). 

Bruer married his high school sweetheart, Sara, and they have seven children: Gracy (18), Vaughn (16), Silas (15), Jayely (12), Delaeny (10), Ellby (8), and Loy (3). Bruer has coached several teams over the years, both at the high school and collegiate levels. He has ministry and volunteering experience, and is currently the owner and operator of BinRefresh, which services residential and commercial cleaning for garbage bins, pressure washing, and fleet washing.