Pitt FB Recruiting
Pitt Extends First Power Four Offer to Rising 2026 Texas TE
Braden Bach isn’t new to the recruiting process, with half a dozen offers under his belt now, but a random call with Pitt tight ends coach Braden Bach was a first.
It was the first time Bach — a 6-foot-5, 230-pound tight end in the class of 2026 from Argyle, Tx. — talked to Bronowski on the phone, and as he received an offer from Bronowski, he picked up his first Power Four offer.
“It was actually pretty spontaneous; we hadn’t really been in too much communication before he called and offered,” Bach told Pittsburgh Sports Now. “He had been following my accounts for a while, but that was actually the first time I was on the phone with him. So, definitely a cool experience to start our relationship just like that.”
Pitt joined an offer sheet that included North Texas, Tulsa and UTEP and has since grown to include Cornell and UNLV.
After a great conversation with coach @coachjbronowski I am blessed to receive an offer to the University Of Pittsburgh! #ATGT @Rivals @On3Recruits @tdrecruits @sixstarfootball @One11Recruiting @MaxPreps @TXCoachGregory @Coach_MP40 @toddrodgers13 @Carter_Yates16 @MikeRoach247 pic.twitter.com/zMCUWJ3Cs9
— Braden Bach (@BradenBach2026) January 2, 2025
Bach has received quite a bit of Power Four interest in recent weeks, with schools like Baylor, Houston, TCU, Texas A&M (especially) and Vanderbilt reaching out, but it felt “amazing” to receive an official offer — even if there are likely many more on the horizon.
“There’s just so much preparation and hard work to get there,” Bach said. “A lot of confidence in my program and my training, so it feels good to kind of have it pay off. But it’s just a fantastic opportunity and everything’s just a blessing.”
The Pitt coaching staff has been following Bach on social media for a while, but Bronowski advanced the relationship with an official offer. And the relationship there is one that Bach is excited to continue.
“(He’s a) very put-together guy, a guy I’m really excited to hopefully talk with in the future,” Bach said. “Definitely want to go up there and meet him in person, definitely sounds like they have a fantastic program going up there right now. He obviously knows what he’s talking about, he wouldn’t be there if he didn’t, and I’m super excited to meet him in person.”
Bach fits the mold of what Bronowski looks for in a tight end — a physical athlete capable of making plays with the ball in his hands but also the aggression to consistently finish blocks. It’s that aggression, and the tenacity he shows in blocking, that caught Bronowski’s eye on film.
“One thing that coach said that he liked about my play style the most is my physicality and my ability to finish blocking,” Bach said. “And receiving and all that stuff will come. I can receive the ball well, obviously getting as many opportunities as other players helps, but I don’t think the receiving part will be an issue. I think the hardest part these days is finding a tight end that will really finish a block and when he called, he said that was the biggest thing that stood out to him.”
Bach was a key figure in Argyle’s 13-2 season, which included a 12-game winning streak throughout most of the season. He’s a steady blocker but also hauled in 26Â receptions for 247 yards (9.5 yards per reception) and three touchdowns.
The major recruiting sites (247Sports, Rivals and On3) haven’t rated Bach yet, but that will change in the coming weeks and months as he visits schools and competes at camps. He’s a rising recruit in the class.
And in the coming weeks, he wants to start feeling out his priorities — and which schools are prioritizing him in the recruiting process. His fit in an offense is important, but the fit has the include on- and off-the-field aspects.
“Definitely has to feel like home,” Bach said. “I do really want to make sure that the offense really plays into my play style, definitely don’t want to go somewhere where I have to change what I’m doing to be able to play tight end there. It would be nice to kind of slide into an offense similar, one that I’m used to. Definitely want to make sure it kind of feels like family and that’s really just the biggest thing to me.”
Pitt is new to the process, with the relationship just kicking off officially, but he already has a connection. His dad’s cousin Chad Varga played for the Panthers in the late 1990s before going on to play professional basketball. Still, there’s a long way to go.
“It’s kind of hard to tell currently right now (where Pitt stands), obviously they’ve offered, and they’re clearly interested,” Bach said.
