Reaves, an infielder from Bonham, Texas, excelled during an outstanding season of Buccaneer baseball.
As Blinn was busy racking up a 46-15 record, which included a fourth-place finish in the NJCAA Division I Baseball World Series, Reaves contributed to that success with an outstanding season at the plate.
Across 60 games, Reaves finished his first collegiate season with a .422 batting average to go with 103 hits, 77 runs scored, 22 doubles, three triples, 20 home runs, 86 runs batted in, and 15 stolen bases. Reaves also got on base at a rate of .498. His hits, doubles, home runs, and RBIs led his team.
“It’s a great honor and another testament to the hard work it took to get here,” said Reaves. “This is possible because of our coaches, like head coach Dusty Hart, and the incredible run we had this year. I think the World Series run was what pushed me over the top, and I obviously couldn’t have done that alone. My teammates deserve just as much credit for making that run possible.”
Reaves also was tabbed the Region XIV Offensive Player of the Year while being selected first-team Region XIV South All-Conference and first-team Region XIV All-Region.
“It was never my goal to earn individual honors, but these awards come with the level that I want to play,” added Reaves, “so to have your work and your performance validated in this way is pretty cool.”
Reaves is committed to Louisiana State University but will return to Blinn for his sophomore season in 2024 before departing for Baton Rouge, La. That is good news for Hart and the Buccaneers, who will be eager to see what Reaves’ encore performance has in store.
“He had a phenomenal year, and this is very well-deserved,” Hart said of Reaves. “He worked hard to get to this point, and it’s really cool to see someone’s hard work come to fruition the way it has for him. The good news is that the sky’s the limit for Tanner, and he’s not anywhere close to a finished product. If he continues to work the way he did this year, he’s going to have a lot of opportunities to play this game for a long, long time.”
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 43 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
