2 brothers, 2 high schools: A pair of baseball state championships for Bryant and Brady Rascoll

If you were looking to win an Alabama high school baseball championship in 2022, having a Rascoll on your team was a good place to start.

In 2017, Tim Rascoll retired from the Navy, and he and his wife, Lauren, chose to make Montgomery their "forever home." For their sons Bryant and Brady, who had lived in Washington D.C., San Diego, New Orleans and the River Region, it ended a period of constant change.

"It was really exciting to get to experience a lot of different cultures and geographic places that a lot of kids at our age don't get to," Bryant said. "It's always hard saying goodbye, but then again, we've had opportunities that many others didn't."

Even though the Rascolls have settled down, Bryant and Brady have still had plenty of uncommon experiences. This season, Bryant, a senior outfielder and pitcher at Macon-East, won an AISA Class AA title. Brady, a sophomore at Trinity, won the AHSAA Class 3A championship with the Wildcats a week later, capping off a rare feat: two brothers, two schools and two titles under one roof.

"We both thought (both of us winning state titles) would be really cool," Brady said. "Before the year, I knew we (Trinity) were really good, but I didn't think we were going to make it as far as we did. I'm not surprised now, with all the hard work we put in."

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Because of the family's frequent relocations, Bryant and Brady were homeschooled until recently. But their parents gave them as much access as possible to extracurricular activities such as Boy Scouts, church groups and, of course, baseball. When Bryant was 5, he got his start in a San Diego T-ball league, joined soon by Brady.

Bryant and Brady played together for Ezekiel Academy, a program for Montgomery-area homeschoolers, as well as travel teams Triton Rays and Beehive Stars. As a freshman, Brady enrolled at Trinity, largely because of the baseball program's historic strength. Bryant took classes at Auburn University Montgomery before enrolling at Macon-East for his senior season, wanting to reunite with some of his travel ball teammates and play for coach Bob Pickett.

Both had to adjust to new schools — seven straight hours of school, earlier wake-up times and more rules, as Brady put it. But they enjoyed the new social structure their schools provided, including getting to be around friends more often.

"I wanted to experience the traditional high school setting, those traditions and activities that kids in high schools got to do," Bryant said. "It was a good way to wrap up my high school experience."

Bryant was the starting pitcher for the Knights' title-clinching win against Patrician Academy and finished the season with a .378 batting average. Brady, an infielder, hit .348. Brady was at Paterson Field as Bryant pitched the Knights to a state title, and Bryant cheered on Brady from the Trinity student section in Jacksonville.

"I look up to my brother," Brady said. "That was something really cool to watch."

Bryant is looking for an opportunity to play college baseball, while Brady dreams of the same in a couple years. Another dream they share, however, will forever remain a hypothetical.

Being in the AHSAA and AISA, Trinity and Macon-East aren't allowed to play each other. That doesn't mean Bryant and Brady don't talk about what would happen if the teams were to scrimmage — in Brady's words, they do so "all the time."

"Both of our teams have really solid coaches and we both really enjoy the teams that we're on," Bryant said. "It gets competitive in our household, but ultimately I have great respect for Brady's team and he has the same mutual respect for mine."

Jacob Shames can be reached by email at jshames@gannett.com, by phone at 334-201-9117 and on Twitter @Jacob_Shames.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Bryant, Brady Rascoll win state titles at Macon-East, Trinity baseball