Riverdale's Brayden Siren believed to be Murfreesboro's tallest baseball player in at least 30 years

Growing up, Brayden Siren didn't follow Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Randy Johnson much.

"I really didn't watch him ... I stuck with the (St. Louis) Cardinals," said Siren, a Riverdale senior who has signed with MTSU.

Siren was very aware of what the 6-foot-10 Johnson did on the mound. And he can relate to "The Big Unit" on the high school level.

"I saw his highlights," said the 6-foot-9 Siren, a right-hander who is believed be the tallest baseball player in Murfreesboro in at least 30 years. "I've always been more of an overhand pitcher. He was always more down low."

Siren tossed a no-hitter during Wednesday's District 7-AAA tournament championship game against No. 1 seed Blackman. The Blaze's Barry Vetter said he couldn't remember a player as tall as Siren in Murfreesboro during his three decades as a coach in the area.

He is 3-2 in 12 games (11 starts) with a 2.39 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 41 innings.

"I remember a long time ago when I first heard of him when he was in fourth grade," said Riverdale coach Barry Messer. "He was sort of a phenom over at Barfield. I followed him in middle school and when he got here, we knew he could be special. God blessed him with a lot of size."

There are certainly advantages of being Siren's size on the mound. The most obvious one is simply being closer to the plate after finishing a wind-up. 

"I would say it's the leverage," said Siren. "Getting the ball going and depth. It gets on them quicker."

But there are also challenges.

"When you're that big, you can't always make it go to the spot you want," said Messer. "So, mechanics is something a big, tall guys fight. But he's cleaned up his mechanics and got a lot better over the last year and a half.

"It's still a challenge. He still struggles sometimes trying to find the right spot with his arms and legs, but he put it all together (Wednesday)."

Siren is hitting just .248 but he has six doubles, two home runs and 13 RBIs over 101 at-bats this season.

Siren was twice an all-area basketball player, helping lead Riverdale to the Class AAA state tournament his junior season and a regular-season district title his senior season.

But when everything began clicking on the diamond, he realized his future goals.

"It was probably last summer," said Siren, who committed to MTSU last July.

He's hoping he still has more high school run left in him. The Warriors play Shelbyville at home Monday in the Region 4-AAA semifinals with a berth in the Class AAA sectional on the line.

"He's had good years for us, but I think his better years are ahead of him," Messer said. "We're excited about what the future holds."

Reach Cecil Joyce at cjoyce@dnj.com or 615-278-5168 and on Twitter @Cecil_Joyce.

More:Murfreesboro area high school postseason pairings, top performers