Brandon Lowe’s Big Season, Heart, and Appreciation For Maryland

Maryland baseball alum Brandon Lowe just wrapped up his eighth season of competing at the highest level for Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays. 

Lowe had a career year that earned him his second-ever All Star accolade and tremendously boosted his career statistics. 

He returned to Baltimore late in September for a series against the Orioles where he was able to catch up with current Maryland head coach Matt Swope and talk to umterps about the love he has for his alma mater. 

“It’s always great,” Lowe said of playing back in Maryland. “I spent years developing up here. It is a little like home. You come back and things are familiar. The roads are familiar. You come out and breathe the air and there’s a little sense of home. Coming back to the area’s always a lot of fun.”

During Lowe’s tenure in College Park, Swope was the Director of Baseball Operations. They grew close and Lowe stays in-tune with the Maryland baseball program that now sits under Swope.

“I talk with Swope a good bit, especially now,” Lowe said. “Swope’s done a good job of trying to bridge that gap between Maryland and its previous athletes and the guys that have played pro ball. He’s done a great job with that. There aren’t a whole lot of guys that really wish for you to do better than what they did, and he’s truly one of those guys. He wants to do whatever he can do to make you a better athlete and a better baseball player.”

“We couldn’t be more proud of Brandon and the incredible journey he’s taken from his days at the University of Maryland to now making an impact in Major League Baseball for the Rays,” Swope said. “His success is a reflection of the hard work, resilience, and character he’s carried with him every step of the way, and he is an inspiration to our program and everyone who comes through it.”

College Park gave Lowe more than just a career; it gave him a family. He met his wife, Madison, during his time at Maryland. It was a love story from a movie with Lowe playing baseball and Madison competing for Terrapin softball. 

The stars aligned to create a diamond-sport duo that eventually resulted with a diamond on Madison’s finger. 

“It means everything,” Lowe said of his time at Maryland. “We go back and we talk about it all the time, just how crazy it was for everything to line up perfectly for me and my family. We have two wonderful children. We talk about how I almost didn’t go to Maryland, but it was my only college offer. Madison almost didn’t go to Maryland as well. Thankfully, we both — by the grace of God — got to go to Maryland. The rest is history. I owe a lot of things to the school and the program. We’re forever thankful.”

During his time in college, Lowe grew as more than just a baseball player. He credited his time in College Park for teaching him invaluable lessons and shaping who he is. 

“I was on my own a little bit. I was three and half hours away from home. Mom and Dad weren’t going to drive up at a phone call to come see me. I learned how to live on my own. I learned how to cook, how to clean, and how to wash my own clothes. It really taught me a lot of independence in that aspect and how to use my time correctly. I had to realize how to do everything.”

He had to learn to manage his time and his body, something he was able to use Maryland Athletic’s incredible resources to accomplish. 

“I didn’t have a weightlifting program,” Lowe said of his career before Maryland. “I was undersized, and didn't understand how to gain weight or build muscle. 6 AM workouts were tough as a freshman, but it taught me how to schedule. It taught me how to use my time the right way. I got into a weight room. I learned how weightlifting was going to help my career. I got stronger.”

His teammates, coaches, trainers and support staff also taught him accountability. His time as a Terps did so much more for him than getting scouts’ eyes on him.

“That’s one of the great things about college: If you were late, you’re going to get in trouble for it,” Lowe. “If you didn’t do things the right way, you were going to get in trouble for it. You take all of those learning experiences and you take them to pro ball where nobody was going to make you work out. If you didn’t do well, nobody was going to yell at you for not doing your job, you just weren’t going to have a job.”

Lowe had the chance to return to College Park and tour the Terps’ new groundbreaking baseball facility. He’s nothing but complimentary of the current state and trajectory of Maryland baseball and where he thinks it can elevate to.

“It’s a little bit better than when I was there, which is fantastic,” he said. “Getting that facility, being indoors, getting it temperature-regulated, having a code on the door so guys can go in and work on their craft. I feel like people kind of overlook a good indoor facility, and it’s something that I think is extremely necessary and it’s going to pay off in huge dividends for them.”

He said his favorite moment from his time as a Terp came down in South Carolina when Maryland snapped the Gamecocks’ 28-game home winning streak in NCAA Tournament play. 

“Going in, they had an unbelievable winning streak of regionals that they were hosting. There was one point in the series when we were playing South Carolina where one guy stood up in the stands and got everyone riled up and it was my first real taste of what fans could do for a baseball game. I couldn’t hear myself think at that point.” 

Lowe singled and scored a pair of runs in Maryland’s 10-1 regional-clinching victory that sent the Terps to the Charlottesville Super Regional.

“It went from South Carolina fans being extremely loud, rowdy and cheering them on to it being dead silent in that ballpark and us dogpiling in their home stadium,” Lowe said. “That was probably one of my favorite moments.”

After an impressive collegiate career, Lowe was drafted in the third round of the 2015 MLB Draft by Tampa Bay, the organization he’s played in for his entire professional career. 

This season, Lowe played in 134 of the Rays’ 162 games, his second-highest mark of his career (149 in 2021). Aside from missing some minor time in July, Lowe was able to keep himself in the lineup and be a major production piece of the Rays offense. 

“It means the world,” Lowe said of his healthy season. “To see the production and what happens when I’m on the field and healthy, it shows that the production is still there when I can take care of the things I need to take care of and stay on the field. I still can do it.”

He spent his season contributing in several different roles. He played 121 games at second base, nine as the Rays’ designated hitter and three at first base. 

“The biggest thing for me is finding ways to stay in the lineup,” Lowe said. “If I’ve got to play first base or DH or play second, it’s whatever you can do to stay in the lineup. I’m big on ‘whatever you can do to help the team win’. That’s the biggest thing.”

Lowe hit an impressive .256 in 2025, clobbering 31 homers in 570 at-bats, driving in 83 RBIs and scoring 79 runs for his Rays. He got on base at a .307 rate and tallied 130 total hits across 134 games. 

Lowe was second on the Rays in homers, runs and RBIs, just trailing young superstar Junior Caminero, who’s expected to be a pillar in Tampa Bay moving forward. As an eight-year veteran, Lowe’s able to be a mentor for the younger guys in the organization and help them balance professional baseball and life. 

“Having the foundation that I built at Maryland helped between working out, using my time the right way and truly understanding how to play baseball more in-depth,” he said. “There was more learning the game at Maryland. It wasn’t just going out and playing, swinging the bat and hitting ground balls. The intricacies of baseball that I was learning truly set me up for success in pro ball. The foundation I built at Maryland helped me thrive in the minor leagues because nobody was going to hold your hand.”

Lowe’s resurgence of a season continues to cement Maryland baseball’s influence in Major League Baseball. His story is one of hard work, a love for what he does and the people he meets, an overwhelming gratitude and a heart for the program —- all characteristics that Maryland Athletics embody.