Brenham baseball senior standouts Drake Bentke and Dalton Hart signed their letters of intent during Wednesday’s early national signing day.
Bentke signed to play college baseball at the University of Pennsylvania while Hart signed his letter of intent to Blinn College. The teammates signed in front of family and friends during a Wednesday morning ceremony at Brenham High School.
Both players are coming off second-team all-state seasons in 2025, as awarded by the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association. Bentke also earned third-state all-state accolades from the Texas Sportswriters Association while Hart was an honorable mention selection.
Bentke and Hart’s all-state recognition added to first-team all-district honors. Hart’s all-district first-team selection was unanimous. They helped lead the Cubs to a co-district championship, which was shared among four District 17-5A teams in a tough league.
Bentke hit for a .394 average last season with 32 RBI and five home runs. He hit two homers in district play along with a postseason homer in Game 2 of Brenham’s bi-district series against Kingwood Park.
He tallied multiple hits in 12 games in 2025, including six in April or later and four during district games in the month of April.
His power was particularly showcased during Brenham’s 12-game district stretch. Bentke led the Cubs with 11 RBI, a .605 slugging percentage and a 1.060 OPS in district play.
Hart, known as Brenham’s “sparkplug” throughout last season by coach Chase Wheaton, entered the Cubs as a move-in last season from Sherman. He immediately made an impact at shortstop by leading Brenham with 40 hits and 13 stolen bases from the top of the lineup.
He hit 33 singles, but also showcased power with five doubles, a triple and a home run during the Brenham Alumni Tournament in March.
Similar to Bentke, he peaked toward the end of the year with a .429 average in April. Hart drove in nine runs and scored seven times in the month’s 12-game schedule while tying Bentke with 12 hits for the month.
Dalton is slated to join his father, Blinn coach Dusty Hart, with the Bucs.
Bentke and Hart both are projected to make big impacts for Brenham again in 2026 alongside a talented core that features first-team all-district teammates Brody Tucker and Dawson Keim.