Good morning! Not all job fairs are created equal. Some are held in conference halls, some you need suits and ties, some have countless folders filled with resumes littering the floor… but only one (that we know of) requires you to run 40 yards as fast as you can, jump as high as possible, and bench pressing 225 pounds over and over and over.

Welcome to East Carolina football’s Pro Day, which closely resembles the latter. The football players probably prefer shoulder pads to neck ties, anyway.

What all are we mixing into today's Brew?

⚾️ Movin’ on up in the national rankings
🏈 The job hunt is on for NFL hopefuls
​🏴‍☠️ And much, much more!

📈 STOCK UP

🔼 Hang Ten. The Pirates just keep on movin’ up! Another round of rankings released, another jump in the polls for East Carolina with the consensus being this is a top-10 team in the country. A big reason why?

Josh Grosz (who won American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week) and his superb performances on the mound. More on him a little later, but the junior righty tossed a complete-game shutout in last weekend’s 5-0 victory over George Mason that clinched the Pirates' fourth weekend series sweep of the season.

As conference play begins this weekend, the Pirates (19-6) are a consensus top-10 team in the country and look poised for another run at an American Athletic Conference title. Here’s to starting that conference title defense this weekend against Houston!

🔼 Pro Pirates. East Carolina football displayed 12 of their finest at its annual Pro Day earlier this week, working out in front of more than 30 NFL scouts and featuring QB Holton Ahlers, LB Chance Bates, WR C.J. Johnson, DL CJ Mims, RB Keaton Mitchell, S Gerard Stringer, and more.

Want even more? You can check out photos from ECU Pro Day on Twitter.

🔼 Tarheel Trounce. For the first time since 2008! East Carolina softball doubled up on host North Carolina last night, winning 8-4 in a game that wasn’t nearly as close as the final box score would have you believe. The win in Chapel Hill is the program’s first in 15 years.

Taylor Edwards owned the night for ECU, going 4-for-4 out of the two-hole, driving in one run and scoring two herself. Three-hole hitter Anna Sawyer did her part in driving in Edwards, collecting three RBIs on the night.

Addy Bullis was the queen of the hill (excuse us… mound) all night for the Pirates, managing the Tarheel lineup for all seven innings, striking out five and giving up three earned runs on eight hits.

🔼 Shovin’ Shutouts. East Carolina right-hander Josh Grosz earned his first AAC Pitcher of the Week award for his dominant work against George Mason over the weekend. The Virginia Beach native tossed the first complete game shutout for East Carolina since 2021, striking out five and allowing just one walk and five hits. Grosz is now 4-0 on the year for the Pirates.

🤔 PIRATES TRIVIA

Pillaging Pirates. Toeing the rubber against East Carolina baseball is daunting. They’re off to a 19-6 start, and the Pirate offense is averaging more than seven runs per game thanks to an incredibly balanced attack.

How many regulars in the Pirates lineup are hitting over .300 as we head into conference play?

Think you got it? Scroll on down to the bottom of this email for the answer!

⏪ ICYMI

We like our Brew hot n’ fresh. But we’re not opposed to you reheating your cup. Here’s some news you may have missed recently…

🏴‍☠️ Pirate Profile: Reyna Crooms: East Carolina University senior Reyna Crooms’ passion for journalism began in a high school classroom and is now carrying on as she prepares to graduate in May. Now, after successful internships, she’s ready to begin her career in journalism

🏴‍☠️ Better To Give Than Receive: Donations came from campus and across oceans as more than 2,300 Pirates answered the call to support East Carolina University during Pirate Nation Gives. The seventh annual day of giving on March 22 surpassed expectations and raised more than $11.8 million in support of university priorities, including student scholarships, health care initiatives, athletics, and faculty and program support. It was the final Pirate Nation Gives to be held during the Pursue Gold campaign and continued the steady course of the university’s ambitious effort to raise $500 million.

📬 STICK WITH US

Did someone send you the Pirate Brew? Well, the first thing you should do is thank them. The next thing you should do is subscribe here and get it in your inbox every weekday morning just in time for your first cup of coffee!

📅 THE WEEK AHEAD

Friday 3/31

🎽 Track & Field at Bill Carson Invitational
⛳️ Men’s Golf at Cutter Creek Intercollegiate
🥎 Softball vs UCF @ 5:00pm ET | Live Video
🎾 Women’s Tennis at NC State @ 6:00pm ET
⚾️ Baseball at Houston @ 7:30pm ET | Live Video

Saturday 4/1

🎽 Track & Field at Bill Carson Invitational
⛳️ Men’s Golf at Cutter Creek Intercollegiate
🥍 Lacrosse vs Vanderbilt @ 12:00pm ET
🥎 Softball vs UCF @ 5:00pm ET | Live Video
⚾️ Baseball at Houston @ 7:30pm ET | Live Video

Sunday 4/2

⛳️ Men’s Golf at Cutter Creek Intercollegiate
🥎 Softball vs UCF @ 12:00pm ET | Live Video
⚾️ Baseball at Houston @ 2:00pm ET | Live Video

🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: Seven

Good luck to opposing pitchers looking at the ECU lineup and trying to figure out where the outs are going to come from. There are seven Pirates currently hitting at least .300, including Justin Wilcoxen, Carter Cunningham, Josh Moylan, Joey Berini, Jacob Jenkins-Cowart, Jacob Starling, and Luke Nowak.

Have a great Thursday, y’all.