Right-handed pitcher Bryce Archie has quite a unique story for a player in his first full season with the Cincinnati Reds organization. After spending several years as the starting quarterback for the University of South Florida (USF) during the fall while also taking the mound each spring, the former Bull has fully committed to making the transition from the gridiron to the diamond.
A 14th-round selection in last year’s MLB Draft, Archie is embracing the opportunity to grow as a player as he continues to climb the professional ranks.
“I love being part of this organization,” Archie said. “I’m glad they took a chance on me. It gave me the opportunity to really focus on baseball and not do the whole football thing anymore. It’s definitely been a change not playing two sports anymore and having my schedule based solely on baseball. I think it’s helped a lot.
“I’ve gained velocity this year. You’ve seen some good strides in my off-speed pitches and me being more in the zone. I think that’s helped a lot. Like I said, it’s definitely been a learning curve, but I feel like I’ve got the process down. I’ve got everything off the field that helps me be better on the mound.”
Archie lit up the field as USF’s quarterback, starting eight games in 2024 after teammate Byrum Brown went down with an injury. While leading the Bulls on the football field, he also had to navigate the challenges of being a two-sport athlete during baseball season.
“Yeah, my first year definitely was harder. I was trying to do everything and put all my eggs into everything. Really, that’s not what I needed to do. My second year, I got Coach Mitch Hannahs for baseball, and he sat down with me. He said, ‘Listen, what you did last year is going to be completely different. We’re actually going to have a set plan for you.’
“Hannahs talked to Golesh, and they worked together each week on what my schedule would look like. I actually got two off days during the season, so I had some time to either go watch film with football or just take a break from baseball, go to football practice, and kind of just chill. That helped a lot. Mentally, I wasn’t caught up in trying to do everything at once.
“My first year, for example, I played in a spring game, got on a flight, and then started that Saturday for baseball. It was tough. But my second year, I never had those moments where I was just running over from the football field already tired and trying to provide innings for the baseball team. I would say what helped my second year was just having a set plan and sticking with it.”
Although the schedule was demanding, Archie said balancing two Division I sports helped prepare him for professional baseball, as the daily routine shares many similarities with life in the minor leagues.
“Yeah, I kind of say to these guys over here that college football is kind of like what our schedule is now. You wake up, get breakfast, have your pitchers’ meetings going on in the dugout, have all the meetings, and everything you need to prepare for the game. You just have to know how to use it, when to use it, and put that into your own process.
“Playing football in college allowed me to build my own process. Even when I was playing two sports, I still had a process—when I would do this, when I would do that. Getting here, it helped a lot and made everything easier. Now I’m just worried about throwing strikes.”
Since joining the Reds organization, Archie has shown gains with nearly every outing. With his first full season almost complete, the right-hander has made the strides that have allowed him to take on the challenge of High-A baseball after being promoted from Daytona on July 28.
“My major improvements are just being in the zone more with my off-speed pitches and kind of just being the guy I’ve always been. The Reds preach, “Be who you were and be who you are.” That’s the reason you got here. You don’t have to change just because you’re now a minor league pitcher. Nothing changes. You’re still playing baseball.
“You get the biometrics and all the shapes on your pitches, and they really work with what works for you and doing what works for you. That’s the reason I’ve been successful—just kind of being me.”
While at USF, Archie played under two strong leaders in football head coach Alex Golesh and baseball head coach Mitch Hannahs. Since beginning his professional career, however, he has found another mentor in Daytona pitching coach Jason Cuss.
“Oh, I would say our (Daytona Tortugas) pitching coach, Jason Cuss. I’ve leaned on him the most. That’s my guy. He knows a lot about pitching. He actually coached Jacob Misiorowski.”
“You just ask him questions. He knows a lot. He’s not just going to come up to you and say, “Hey, I know all of this stuff.” You go to him, ask him questions, and he’s going to help you out. He’s got the basics of pitching down. I can go up to him and ask him any question, and that’s what I want.”
Even though Archie has moved on from football, he still keeps in close contact with many of his former teammates.
“It’s actually crazy. I talk to those guys every day. Mike Williams came. Michael Brown-Stephens came. We’re so close to Tampa.”
“I talk to Byrum (Brown) every day. I talk to (Alex) Golesh here and there. It’s great to have those guys to talk to. They were my teammates, so it just feels like I’m away from them a little bit, but I’m still talking to them every day.”
“Byrum is doing great at Auburn. Golesh and Auburn will be great this year. I still have my guys at USF with Hartline. It’s just great to have those guys as mentors and to stay in contact with them.”
Archie still finds a way to incorporate football into his daily routine.
“Oh yeah, that’s actually how I warm up. I throw a football. That also helps with arm strength, and the way my brain works is, if I don’t throw a football, what will my arm do? That’s just kind of built into my routine—to throw a football.”
Returning to the Tampa Bay area is always special for Archie. With Daytona’s final Florida State League series taking place in Clearwater before his promotion to High-A Dayton, the weekend served as an unexpected homecoming.
“This place especially kind of feels like home. This (BayCare Ballpark) is where our conference tournament was for baseball, so it definitely feels like home. All the guys were asking about the bullpen before we got here. I’m like, “Oh yeah, it works this way.” It feels like home. Being in Florida just feels like home to me. I always wanted to be in Florida playing ball, no matter what the sport was. That’s why I committed to USF. It’s definitely—it feels great just to be in Florida.”
As Archie looks ahead to the remainder of his first professional season, his goals are simple.
“Yeah, I hope to just become a better pitcher and learn more about the game. There’s so much going on with baseball that it changes almost every day. Just become a better pitcher, throw more strikes, and grow every day with whatever I’m doing.”
And for Reds fans who may not know much about him, Archie hopes they come away with this:
“I’m a great guy. I’m obviously a leader. I was a quarterback for all my life, so I know how to lead a team. I know how to be the guy on the mound that everyone trusts, and they know I’m going to go out there and do the best I can to do my job.”
