A native Houstonian, Brice has deep roots with the Astros organization as a former youth player at the Astros Youth Academy...the Astros AYA has helped thousands of boys and girls since it opened in 2010, with many getting college scholarships to play baseball and softball...at the time of Brice's selection by the Astros there had been 11 kids taken in the MLB Draft who played at the AYA, but not a first-rounder...When he wasn't at the academy, Matthews was starring at Atascocita High School in Humble, Texas, both on the diamond and the gridiron...Matthews served as his high school's dual-threat quarterback, finishing his senior season going 233-of-372 for 4,001 yards with 43 touchdowns and 12 interceptions...he also had 108 carries for 744 yards with 11 touchdowns...Matthews finished his football career as District 22-6A MVP...While at Atascocita HS, played behind offensive lineman Kenyon Green...Green went on to star at Texas A&M before being selected by the Houston Texans in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft...Matthews was not drafted out high school and went on to play baseball at the University of Nebraska for three seasons...had a breakout junior year in 2023 in which he hit .359 at the plate with 20 homers and 20 stolen bases as a first-team All-Big Ten selection...tallied a .481 OBP and a .723 slugging percentage...his 20-20 season was the first by a Huskers player in school history and the second in Big Ten history...Selected by Houston in the first round of the 2023 June draft with the 28th overall selection...signed by Astros scout Drew Pearson...Received his first career Major League Spring Training camp invite this season.
2025
Received his first career promotion to the Majors in 2025 and batted .167 (7-for-42) with six runs, four home runs, nine RBI, one stolen base and a .675 OPS (.222 OBP/.452 SLG) in 13 games across three stints...Had his contract selected from Triple A Sugar Land on July 11 and made his MLB debut that day vs. TEX with a start at second base (0-for-4)...Picked up his first career hit on July 18 vs. SEA with a single vs. RHP Luis Castillo...Went 2-for-4 with two home runs and five RBI on July 21 at ARI...became the second player in Astros history to record a multi-homer game within their first five career games, joining IF Orlando Miller (1994)...was also the first Astro to notch a game with at least five RBI within their first five career games since C George Bjorkman (1983). Delivered another home run on July 22 at ARI, becoming the third player in Astros history with at least three home runs through their first six career games, along with OF Yordan Alvarez (four HR in 2019) and IF Tyler White (three HR in 2016)...Was optioned to Triple A Sugar Land on Aug. 1...recalled on Aug. 21 and optioned to Triple A Sugar Land on Aug. 26 without appearing in a game...recalled on Sept. 27 for the club's final two regular-season games of the year...Went 2-for-4 with a solo homer and a stolen base in the Astros' regular-season finale on Sept. 28 at LAA...Spent the rest of his season with Triple A Sugar Land, batting .260 (109-for-419) with 70 runs, 18 doubles, seven triples, 17 home runs, 64 RBI, 70 walks, 41 stolen bases and an .829 OPS (.371 OBP/.485 SLG)...Among Pacific Coast League players, ranked third in stolen bases and tied for fourth in triples...Among Astros Minor Leaguers, ranked first in hits, tied for first in triples, second in runs, third in stolen bases, third in OPS, third in total bases, tied for third in RBI, fourth in walks, tied for fourth in home runs and seventh in batting average...Set the Space Cowboys single-season franchise record with his 41 stolen bases...Named the Astros Upper Level Minor League Player of the Month for June after batting .306 (30-for-98) with six doubles, three triples, four homers, 16 RBI and seven stolen bases in 25 games during the month...Hit for the cycle on May 10 at Salt Lake, becoming the second player in Space Cowboys history to hit for the cycle...Finished the season ranked as the No. 93 prospect in baseball, per MLB.com.
2024
Had a strong sophomore season in 2024, advancing up three levels to eventually top out at Triple-A Sugar Land...on the season, combined to hit .265 (76-for-287) with 15 doubles, 15 home runs, 44 RBI, a .346 OBP and an .8654 OPS in 79 games... began his season at Class A Asheville, where he'd play in 21 games before a promotion...while at Asheville, named the South Atlantic League Player of the Week for the week of June 3-9...went 12-for-26 (.462/.533/1.495) in six games that week, while hitting four home runs, tallying seven RBI, scoring eight runs, working four walks, and stealing five bases...promoted to Double A Corpus Christi on June 18 and then to Sugar Land on Sept. 10...went 3-for-13 (.231) with a homer and four RBI in three postseason games for Sugar Land...following the year, played for San Juan in the Puerto Rican Winter League, appearing in 20 games and hitting .200 (15-for-75) with two doubles, four homers and 13 RBI.
