ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) –Shelly Brewer had a goal. She wanted her youngest daughter, Cassady Brewer, to attend UCF.
"My mom always wanted me to go here and be close to the family," Cassady said. "We're only like 45 minutes away. My sister came here. I thought it would be really cool to follow in her footsteps and play here."
But Shelly wasn't able to see Cassady reach her goal. She passed away from a brain tumor when Cassady was just seven years old.
"It was something that would have shown up as a kid, but it was a rare thing that showed up when she was 37," Cassady recalled. "She was only supposed to live a few months, but she ended up living an entire year. She was a fighter."
The Brewer Family
The young Brewer looked to her sister as a mother figure. Her maternal grandmother became a role model in her life. When her father remarried, her stepmother helped raise her as well.
"I've had a lot of people step in," Cassady said. "There's a bunch of family friends that have stepped in to make sure that I've had everything I've ever needed."
All three of the Brewer children – Brandon, Danielle and Cassady – started out playing baseball. When it came time to move to the bigger fields, Danielle and Cassady weren't allowed to continue on in baseball, so they had to make a decision.
"I thought, might as well move to a sport with a bigger ball and a longer bat," Danielle said. "Let's try softball."
The Brewer Family
Brandon went on to play collegiately at West Florida before being drafted by the Los Angeles Angels. Danielle successfully made the switch to softball and played her final two seasons under head coach Renee Luers-Gillispie.
Cassady began to spend more time at UCF, and started attending camps. Just a few years after her sister, she was also a Knight.
"The two of them are so different, personality wise," Gillispie said. "Danielle is straight up, by the book. She gets it done and is probably the hardest worker we've ever had on this field. Then Cassady comes in. She's a free spirit. She has all of the tools. She works hard with those tools, but she does it on her own time. They have that competitiveness in both of them, but two totally different ways of getting there."
Cassady acknowledged that being the youngest of the Brewer clan comes with pressure.
"I feel like now I have to step into those shoes because I'm the last one to leave the mark," Cassady said. "It's a lot of pressure, but it's a lot of fun. You have everyone in the house helping you, teaching you their ways and what not to do."
While their baseball and softball connection is closely tied to their father, the trio made sure that their mother was also very prominent.
Brandon donned the number four during his playing days. Danielle held the number 21 both in high school and in college. Shelly's birthday is April 21.
"I had kind of been freaking out, because in my sophomore year of high school, I had looked up the UCF roster and there was a freshman who was wearing No. 21," Cassady said. "But before I got to campus, the number became available."
Dressed in her No. 21 uniform, Cassady made her debut as a Knight on Feb. 11, 2016. The Apopka, Fla., native paced the league with a .455 batting average and .547 on-base percentage during her freshman season. Brewer earned the American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year and was a unanimous selection to the all-rookie team.
Shelly and Cassady Brewer
""All I really wanted to do was tell my dad, because my mom obviously already knew," Cassady recalled. "It was really exciting to know that all of my hard work paid off."
After spending her freshman campaign at second base, she moved back to catcher for her sophomore season and has enjoyed more success at the plate.
Her sister has seen big strides from Cassady, not only in her softball career, but also as a young lady.
"She has grown so much, maturity wise as a person," Danielle said. "I couldn't be more proud of her. I know my mom would be extremely proud."