B

NEW TAZEWELL – The road Ty Pryse has traveled hasn’t been easy but it’s the one that has ultimately brought him the most satisfaction.

The Claiborne senior signed to play baseball at Bryan College this week and the journey from New Tazewell to Dayton isn’t anything new for Pryse since he took an interesting road from west Knoxville to Claiborne that has now resulted in him being able to play collegiately. Pryse started his high school career at Farragut but it didn’t work out the way he thought it would. But that wasn’t the end of the story as Claiborne head coach Stephen Foster came calling to play for the Bulldogs. “My freshman year was the COVID year so I only played in like two games and then the next year, a lot of the sophomores were not on the team so I got cut from the team,” Pryse said of his experience playing for the Admirals. “Before the next year, Steve asked ‘how would you like to come and play for me at Claiborne?’ and even though at first I thought he was joking, I just couldn’t pass on that opportunity.”

Foster turned out to be more than a coach to Pryse, he tuned into a father figure as his real father tragically passed away during the pandemic. Pryse live in the Foster house where he bonded with his coach in a way few players could ever experience. “He has helped me to grow a lot and Steve has become a father figure with the passing of my dad. He has been there for me and he has a great family.”

“Ty and my son Dylan have been playing on travel ball since they were 12 and so we had become good friends with both of his parents,” Foster said of the process that eventually led Pryse to Claiborne. “We knew he was an excellent baseball player but he got cut from his high school team in Knoxville and that meant there was an entire year where he didn’t play baseball at all. That made him free to move to another school with having to sit out so my oldest son was moving out to go to college and we had extra space. My wife and I talked about him coming to live with us and play here since baseball has been so important for all of us. We threw the idea out to his mom and at first, I think she thought it was kind of a joke and we kind of laughed at it but the topic kept coming up.”

“His father passed away and that gave him the opportunity to come live with us and have me in his life as a father figure and have family stability,” Foster continued. “It’s turned out to be a great situation for everyone as Ty has certainly helped our team and this is a great opportunity for him. Outside of baseball, he has flourished here as he struggled with grades at Farragut but here, Ty has really flourished.”

“The environment was so good there and you could see how Christ-minded everyone is and I think it will be a great place for me,” Pryse said of the Christian school in Rhea County. “I want to get back into the faith and I think they will help with that and they have a great baseball program. Bryan has a lot of people there to help you and I think it’s going to be great.”

Pryse, who pitches and plays in center field for the Dawgs, has a 3.1 ERA and is batting .340 so far this season. He has three doubles, one home run and has driven in eight runners. He said he expects to make the transition from the outfield to the infield where he will see action at second base. “Second base is where they have seen me and I think that’s where they feel they will need me more,” Pryse said. “Bryan is getting a top-notch player as he has proven here that he can handle the school work as long as he had some accountability and Ty has really matured,” Foster said. “Being away from the distractions and some of the friend groups he may have had in Knoxville has helped because here, all of his closest friends are baseball players. Bryan is getting an excellent person and player.”

The Bulldogs have had a busy signing season as Pryse is the fourth Claiborne player to commit to play college baseball next year. He joins teammates Joseph Houser (Alice Lloyd), Tyler Myatt (Walters State) and Dylan Foster (UVA-Wise) who will be moving on to the collegiate level. “I am extremely proud of what we have been able to accomplish here,” Foster said. “We had three players last year sign to play in college and when I took the team over eight years ago, to my knowledge, I hadn’t heard of anyone playing college baseball from here so I am really tickled for these guys, I am extremely proud.”