May 25, 2007

TheACC.com introduces you to the league's
athletes, coaches and administrators each week.

Brandon Reichert
Florida State
Year: Senior
Baseball
Hometown: Tallahassee, Fl.
Major: Real Estate
Favorite flavor ice cream: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Growing up in Tallahassee, Brandon Reichert always wanted to be a Seminole. He didn't take the easiest road to get there. After high school, the first baseman spent two years at Tallahassee Community College, where his team won its first Panhandle Conference Championship in seven years. He then transferred to Mercer University where he hit .345 with 39 RBI. Reichert did not play last year due to his transfer. Finally, in his senior year, he is a Seminole.

How did you get started playing baseball?
When I was young, probably three or four years old, I had a neighborhood with about ten of fifteen kids about the same age. We always used to just meet on the cul de sac and play baseball. Some of the older kids got me into it, helped with my hand-eye coordination. I grew up playing in the backyard. I started organized baseball when I was about six or seven and I just never stopped from there.
I grew up being a first baseman, I was a shortstop in little league, but I'm not the most athletic baseball player. I grew up pitching a little bit too, but I could always hit better than I could pitch.

What has been your greatest accomplishment so far as an athlete?
Probably in junior college, Tallahassee Community College, when we won the Panhandle Conference. I had a really good year that year. That was the first time that our team had won in six or seven years. We had a great team that year, I got to play with some guys that are future Major Leaguers. That was a good time for me.

What do you still hope to accomplish in the future?
Growing up with baseball in my life has really made me the kind of person I am today. It has made my strengths and weaknesses. I would love to get the chance to play past college, but even if I don't get the chance, I just want to get married, have kids and be successful enough to take care of a family and help out with community baseball and stuff like that. I just want to be a good part of the community, give back. Everybody that helped me out, I want to be able to do the same because of the way I was helped.

Who was your most influential role model?
Definitely my parents. Neither one of them played baseball and probably didn't know the first thing until I started playing t-ball. There's just no chance I could have made it without them. They left work early to take me to games, took off work to drive me to tournaments out of town. They've helped me build character off the field which I try to carry onto the field. They've been my biggest influence.

What was the best advice you ever received from a coach?
Our high school coach, Coach Zimmerman, had a different piece of advice for us everyday. But the best I've ever had was "don't stop." He was big on tenacity. That was his main word. He always said to go hard and don't stop until it's over.

What's your most memorable moment in sports?
We won the State Championship my junior year of high school. That was probably the biggest thing I've ever won. That's as far as you can go in high school. We won with a team full of nobodies. Nobody was really being looked at by colleges. We won the State Championship and I think we helped shut up a lot of people on the way and that was a good time.

Being a senior, if you could give the rest of your team one piece of advice for when you leave, what would it be?
Stay loose, have fun and play pranks.

Why did you choose Florida State?
I grew up in Tallahassee. This is such a Seminole environment. My dad graduated from there. I just grew up loving Florida State athletics. Being a part of this community, you just bleed garnet and gold. Growing up, that's what you want to do, to be a part of what everybody cheers for.