3.24.23

Baseball is pivot point for the Becker brothers

Kent ’02 and Brett Becker have always loved baseball — from the perspective of Little Leaguers just learning the game, to that of coaches breaking down fundamentals for their players.

“We grew up playing ball,” Kent says. “We always wanted to be a part of the game. It’s a huge reason why we’re best friends today.”

The two brothers — who both played collegiate ball, Kent at Wichita State and Brett at Fort Hays State — are also business partners in Pivot Point™, a Topeka-based startup company founded on their idea for designing a batting grip to ratchet up a player’s hitting prowess.

“The idea started in March of 2020,” Kent says. “Brett had a grip trainer for golf in his garage and mentioned why couldn’t we do something like this to help hitters improve their grip. We got some Play-Doh from Brett’s daughter’s room, and we rolled it out and placed it around the handle of the bat, giving us a first look at the grip.”

As a Wichita State sport administration graduate, Kent knew his alma mater offered a slew of programs that could help them navigate everything from product development to intellectual property and commercialization. After initial conversations with university professionals about their idea, the Beckers landed on working especially closely with Rob Gerlach, executive director of technology transfer and commercialization at WSU, and Joel White, engineering manager for advanced manufacturing development at WSU’s National Institute for Aviation Research.

“We couldn’t have asked for better partners at the beginning stages of our business,” Kent says.

Pivot Point began selling grips for baseball and softball in November of last year. “In just a few short months, we’re proud to have our products at every level of the game — and excited to still be a part of the game we love.”

Kent, who’s five years older than Brett, was a standout catcher on Hutchinson Community College’s baseball team (1999-2000). The two-year starter was Jayhawk West Conference Player of the Year, Junior College All-American and a member of the Junior College National team in Japan. He transferred to Wichita State and played for the Shockers (2001-2002), helping WSU nab a conference title.

Brett attended Cowley County College, where he was a middle infielder on the baseball team. After transferring to Fort Hays State, he earned First Team All-MIAA and All-Region accolades as a utility player.

“My coaching career began when I finished playing at WSU,” Kent says. “I coached as Washburn University for two years and coached the Topeka Golden Giants in the summer college baseball league for three years. I then stepped out of collegiate coaching and began coaching my own boys. I coached travel baseball for youth and high school for 10 years, along with being a hitting instructor. I enjoy watching players of any level improve and work toward being the best player they can be.”

Brett’s journey as a coach has taken him across the state of Kansas. “I’ve spent time at Barton County, Emporia State, Fort Hays State and Colby Community College,” Brett says. “All of my roles at each school revolved around hitting and offense. In 2017, I had the opportunity to coach in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Falmouth Commodores. This will be my seventh summer coaching the hitters for Falmouth. I’ve coached over 90 players who’ve been drafted by Major League Baseball — one of them is former Shocker Alec Bohm.”

In addition to Pivot Point, Brett owns and operates Brett Becker Baseball, a training outfit that focuses on hitting instruction for 10- to 18-year-olds. “I enjoy working with hitters of all levels,” Brett says. “The thing that gives me the most satisfaction is watching athletes start to discover things as a hitter and in that discovery, they start to find more confidence in themselves and their abilities.”

Both Brett and Kent live in Topeka with their families. Brett and his wife, Tiernan, have two daughters, Reece and Rigley. Kent and his wife, Hollie, have three sons, Konnor, Mason and Max.