One Last Ride: An Interview With Bryce Pearce

Written and media by Anthony Stephenson.


Bryce Pearce is a senior here at Greenville University. Along with being an athlete and biology major, he also plays baseball. All his life it was sure that he wanted to pursue sports. Ever since a young age, Pearce has excelled on the baseball field as well as the basketball court. After this year, Pearce will be graduating and going on to nursing school. With this being his “last ride” so-to-speak, I was able to get a one-on-one conversation with him and ask him how this senior year is different than the others.

Pearce pitching during his senior season of high school. Media by Anthony Stephenson.

When asking Pearce how he felt about this being his last year of baseball, he said, “It has not really sunk in yet because we haven’t started playing games, but once it starts I know it will go by fast.” Later he went on to say, “I just want to enjoy the fun times with my teammates and use the abilities that God has given me to play this sport at this level.” Growing up, Pearce knew that he had a high chance of playing baseball or basketball at the collegiate level. It was more of a matter of where and for who than an if and when.

The opportunity to exemplify what it means to be a Christian on and off the field had a huge influence on Pearce coming to Greenville. “Not only did I want to come to Greenville to play baseball and get my education, I wanted to grow a deeper relationship with Christ.” After a short stint at Olney Central College, Pearce felt that Greenville was ultimately the place for him. Pearce played a key role for the Panther’s last spring, helping deliver a conference title. After pitching what he would call “one of the best outings of my life,” he was then named to the All-Conference Tournament Team. That has set the table for Pearce to take a bigger role on the team going into this spring season. He has some big goals for himself for his senior year and hopes those goals will lead to the ultimate goal, which is to bring the trophy back to Greenville once again.

Pearce holding the conference championship banner. Media by Anthony Stephenson.

Always being a team-first player, he hopes that using his leadership will help change the mentality of the team to that of a family, rather than just a team. When being asked how does this senior year differ from your high school senior year he said, “It is a lot different just simply from the fact that while in high school, I knew that I was going to have the opportunity to play again at the next level. Being a senior this year it has finally started to sink in that this is my last go-around, and I don’t have that next opportunity.” In life, it is all about what’s next, and for Pearce, he knows that after the spring semester, baseball is now no longer on that list. Being that this year is his “last ride,” Pearce stated that his “pressure to perform is lower than years past because after last year I know what I need to do to be successful for not only just myself but to help the team out as a whole.”

Later on, I had the opportunity to ask Pearce how baseball has helped prepare him for life. He responded, “It has taught me in many ways, because baseball is such a demanding sport because we have so much stuff going on throughout the season. Baseball has taught me time management, self-discipline, and most importantly, that it is okay to fail because, in baseball, you fail more than you succeed.” Baseball is all about waiting to find your pitch, and when you find that pitch, you better not miss. Pearce feels that he has finally found his pitch in life and is ready to knock it out of the park.

To wrap this up Pearce thinks that, “This season is not solely about any single player on the team. We all have one goal in mind, and that is to repeat as conference champs. Also, that there is no I in team, and we all know what it takes to get that task done.” The Panther’s season opens up in Memphis on Friday, February 16th and their first home game is Friday, March 2nd, so clear your calendars and come cheer on your Greenville Panthers!

2 COMMENTS

  1. 2 very wonderful young men that I have had the honor of watching grow. Fantastic article, Anthony…Congratulations Bryce
    Jackie Kreitler

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