As father and son face off, the Cubs manager shares a heartwarming, humorous take on his son's monumental first pro at-bat.
Dads will always root for their son to succeed in life.
That’s no different in baseball.
Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell was ecstatic when his son, Brady Counsell, was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 10th round of the 2025 MLB Draft. Any father would be proud of their son being drafted.
Brady played his final college season at the University of Kansas, where he hit .259 with 12 home runs, 11 doubles, 57 RBI, and five stolen bases across 60 games for the Jayhawks. He also won a Gold Glove for his play at third base last year.
Although Brady was drafted last year, he hasn’t actually taken any professional at-bats yet. He spent the rest of the 2025 season at the Arizona Diamondbacks' Spring Training Complex and wasn’t a part of Arizona’s Spring Training team to start the year.
But Brady was officially assigned to the Diamondbacks’ Spring Training team on Thursday afternoon. While he wasn’t in Arizona’s lineup to begin the game, the young prospect could log his first professional at-bat on Thursday.
Funny enough, his first professional at-bat could come against his father’s team. The Diamondbacks face off against the Cubs on Thursday afternoon, and both Craig and Brady will be in opposite dugouts for this game.
Craig will have an up-close seat to Brady’s first professional at-bat. He will be sitting roughly around 60 feet away from where Brady is expected to take the first at-bat of his career. The two also exchanged lineup cards ahead of Thursday’s game.
The Cubs manager will obviously be all smiles as his son takes the plate. It’s definitely a big milestone for Brady, and every father wants to see their son achieve these milestones throughout their life.
However, there’s no doubt that Craig is a bit nervous for his son’s first professional at-bat.
“I’ll close my eyes and watch the video later,” Counsell told reporters in Arizona.
It’s a cool moment for both Craig and Brady. Both will remember this day forever. Managing the team that your son is playing against in his first taste of professional baseball is such a full-circle moment for the Counsell family.
Brady got to watch his dad play in the latter part of his professional career. Craig played in the Major Leagues from 1995 to 2011. Although Brady was just a small child, it’s those moments that he will likely always remember.
When asked by reporters to compare his game to his dad’s game, Brady had an all-time response: “I have more power.”