Howard Brey began his career at Rutgers in 2013 by tying for the team lead in appearances out of the pen with 24. He struck out 26 batters in 34 innings as a freshman allowing a mere .200 opposing batting average. As a sophomore in 2014 he appeared in 13 games with 11 coming as starting pitcher. He would end the season with a team best 2.36 ERA in 76.1 innings of work while tying the team high with six wins. Named third team all-conference in 2014.

During his 2015 season, Brey appeared in 13 games making the start in all. He would record a career high in strikeouts this past season tallying up a total of 56. Kept opposing hitters to a .297 average while picking up three wins that included one complete game shutout.