Indian slugger commits to play for the Bulldogs
At 6-1, 260 pounds, football would look like a better fit on the surface for Tyreque Reed.
For him, he realized early on that wasn’t going to be the case.
The Houlka native played Class A football, basketball and baseball and excelled at all three. His first love, though, was the diamond. After hurting his neck playing football, he decided to focus more on a future swinging a bat and rounding bases. He realized he was pretty good at that.
His senior year at Houlka, Reed hit an eye-popping .640 at the plate with five doubles and four home runs. He caught the attention of junior colleges and chose Itawamba Community College for his two-year destination.
What followed was bigger things than even this big slugger could imagine. Reed hit 10 home runs as a freshman with solid production but he was left wanting more.
This season has been even better as Reed is likely the Most Valuable Player in the state of Mississippi. He hit .504 in his sophomore year with a monstrous 15 home runs and 57 RBI while also battering 15 doubles and striking out just 11 times in 141 at bats.
“It’s been great,” Reed said. “I absolutely love junior college baseball and it made me a better player coming from a 1A school. I thought I was good in high school, but my first year there … it showed me that I wasn’t what I thought I was and it’s made me a better player.”
With 25 home runs on the docket over his two-year career, colleges from around the country have come calling for his services. Mississippi State, Kentucky, Auburn and Samford all offered and LSU was getting close before this past week.
That’s when MSU pushed the issue with the instate hitter. Will Coggin and Andy Cannizaro brought Reed in on a visit during the week a couple of weeks ago and he was on campus for the LSU series this weekend. It was there where he told Cannizaro he wanted to be a Bulldog.
“He was excited jumped up and gave me a hug and said ‘Hail State,’” Reed said of the coach’s reaction. “I know that Cannizaro is a cool guy and is a great guy to be around.”
As far as the visit was concerned, Reed was impressed by what MSU had to offer.
“I went on a visit and they toured me around the campus and showed me the baseball field,” Reed said. “I’ve seen them play and have loved everything. We touched base from then on out. I’ve always wanted to play there my whole life and they gave me the opportunity. It was the best deal I had in college baseball.”
The Bulldogs could potentially lose junior college first baseman Reynaldo Rivera to the Major League draft next month so they’re hoping they keep either Reed or Rivera. Reed hasn’t made his decision on the draft one way or the other to this point as he’s still very new to the process.
After spending the year hitting batting practice for scouts and knowing he’s on the radar, things are up in the air over the next month.
“I’m not sure it’s going to happen, but if they offer a lot of money, it’s going to be hard to turn down,” Reed said. “I’m going to have to talk to my family about that.”