Editor's note: NNUSports.com will be running Senior Spotlights on all the spring sports seniors who have elected not to come back for another year of eligibility.
 
Bryan Black
Baseball, left-handed pitcher
Major: Business Management and Accounting
 
When Bryan Black first got to Northwest Nazarene University, he figured he was going to be an engineer.

Things change, though, and Black realized that wasn't the vocation for him.

Eventually, he landed on a double major of Business Management and Accounting. After he spent some time doing job shadows, he landed on what he wanted to do for a future career.

"One of them was a project manager at a construction company," he said. "I saw their day-to-day work, going back and forth between projects and it really intrigued me."

Black was hired by Fowler Construction in the Tri-Cities in Eastern Washington. His first job will be the rebuild of Kennewick High School.

While Black went to Chiawana High in Pasco across the Columbia River from Kennewick, he isn't worried about any rivalries getting in the way of a job well done.

"My grandpa went to Kennewick and my great-grandpa was the superintendent in Kennewick," he said. "So, I have some history there."

Black recently got engaged with his fiancé, Mairyn Owen, a 2018 NNU graduate.

"We were on the Boise Greenbelt and we 'Ran into' her friend who is a photographer who just happened to have his camera with him," Black said. "She was completely surprised and had no idea."

Black, a left-handed reliever on the Nighthawks baseball team, had his senior season cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Nighthawks were 7-1 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play and were primed for a run at the conference title.

He is turning down the opportunity to come back to NNU next year after the NCAA ruled that all spring sports seniors have the option of an extra year of eligibility.

"I would have loved to have seen how the rest of the season played out," he said. "This was the best chance we had to beat Billings in the last couple of years."

During Black's redshirt freshman year, the Nighthawks won the conference title. It's been a bit of a rollercoaster since then, but he's glad for the opportunity to play college baseball.

"I've made friends that will last a lifetime, memories that will last a lifetime and grown more than I ever could have without it," he said. "I've had a lot of fun."
 
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