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‘Heart and soul’ of championship program named George W. Rulon Player of the Year.

Lincoln (Neb.) Carpet Land Post 500 coach Mychal Lanik calls Brodie McIntire the “heart and soul of our program.”

After McIntire helped lead Carpet Land Post 500 to the 2026 American Legion World Series title, he also will be known as the 2026 George W. Rulon American Legion Player of the Year, receiving the award during Tuesday’s postgame ceremony.

“He’s the heart and soul of our program,” Lanik said of McIntire, who has spent four years in the Lincoln American Legion baseball program. “He’s maybe the toughest kid we’ve ever had.”

Also an all-tournament second baseman, the 5-foot-10, 175-pound McIntire first got Lanik’s attention when he played for the Lincoln East High School program.

A member of Lincoln’s 2025 ALWS team that failed to advance out of pool play, McIntire said he and his teammates spent the offseason vowing to return to Shelby, N.C., and do more this time around.

“As soon as we got back home last year, we started working right away,” said McIntire, who enrolls at the University of St. Thomas (Minn.) this fall. “This was always our end goal. It’s a long ride and it took a lot of hard work but we did it, and it’s the best feeling in the world.”

After hitting .333 with two doubles in the Central Plains Regional in Mandan, N.D., McIntire batted leadoff and hit .500 with two doubles and three RBIs in Shelby to spark the Post 500 offense and earn national player of the year honors in voting by a committee of top ALWS officials.

“It’s a dream come true,” McIntire said. “I owe this to all of these guys. We’ve all been grinding together for this for a long time. We finally got this accomplished and it’s a great feeling.”

Lanik was pleased that McIntire was recognized for his exceptional play.

“He’s just tough as nails and has worked for everything he got,” Lanik said. “It couldn’t go to a better kid.”