Jenks Baseball Standout Signs National Letter of Intent to Play for Oklahoma State
By MIKE MOGUIN
GTR Sports Writer
STILLWATER BOUND: Jenks baseball player Bryce Osmond celebrates with his family as he signs a letter of intent with Oklahoma State on Nov. 14. Standing behind Osmond from left are Sue Osmond, grandmother; Bill Osmond, father; DeRhonda Osmond, mother; Lauren Osmond, sister and Blake Osmond, brother.
Photo by Christian Campbell
Bryce Osmond is seeing his athletic dreams come to fruition. The Jenks senior pitcher/shortstop recently signed a national letter of intent to play baseball at Oklahoma State.
“I’ve always been a Cowboy,” Osmond said. “Since I was little, I’ve been taught Orange Power. That’s just how we were raised. I got the opportunity to become an Oklahoma State Cowboy and I took it.”
Osmond has been verbally committed to play at since his freshman year. But it didn’t become etched in stone until the day he signed at the Sharp Center, in which a large assembly of Jenks students, coaches and administrators gathered to watch him sign. His teammates Geovanni Bradshaw (Northern Oklahoma College) and Jayden Bray (Connors State College) were among nearly a dozen other athletes who signed to play baseball and other sports at the college level.
“It is honestly pretty overwhelming,” Osmond said. “I didn’t know that this many people would come out and support us and it was just great everybody came together, and it was awesome to see two of my best friends (Bradshaw and Bray) get to sign and go on to the next level.”
Growing up, Osmond traveled to Stillwater many times with his family to see games in football, basketball and baseball.
“I used to go when I was younger with my dad,” he said. “It is just an awesome environment. This is Allie P’s (Allie P. Reynolds Stadium) last year. So, they’re going to tear that one (stadium) down and we’ll be in the new stadium next year. We can’t wait.”
However, Osmond’s goal wasn’t always to play baseball. He once carried aspirations to play on the gridiron.
“I decided that I wanted to play football at Oklahoma State,” Osmond said. “That was my goal before I figured out that I was going to play baseball. I was about seven or eight and I figured ‘this is what I’m going to do, I’m going to the quarterback for Oklahoma State.’”
At the time he made his commitment to the Pokes, Osmond was still playing football and was the varsity backup quarterback.
“We won a state championship (in 2015),” he said. “I decided after I committed that I wanted to focus on baseball.”
So, who did Osmond choose over?
“It’s been interesting because when I committed to Oklahoma State, it was the only school that I had a scholarship offer from,” Osmond said. “As the years have gone by, I’ve had other opportunities, but nothing has felt like home like Stillwater has.”
When he arrives at , Osmond will be joining former Trojans Bret Standlee and Chase Burgess, currently on the Cowboys’ baseball roster.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” he said.
What Osmond enjoys about the game is the competitive nature.
“There is always that aspect that I want to be better than the other guy and that’s what’s so great about baseball. Every time you’re up, or you’re pitching, you have the chance and that’s what has always driven me to do what I do and keep working hard,” Osmond said.
“When I was little, I played outfield, then I decided I wanted a little more action, so I wanted to move to the infield and I started at third base. I liked that the ball was relatively close, and I would go get it. So, then, I got moved to shortstop, where you get attention because you get balls all the time. That’s what put me at shortstop because I wanted the ball more,” he added.
Competing with every pitch is what Osmond likes about pitching.
While the Jenks senior looks forward to seeing what he can do next year as a freshman for , he is also focused on creating a memorable season in his final campaign this coming spring as a Trojan.
“We’ve got a pretty good senior class,” he said. “We have a lot of team chemistry and we’ve got people returning who are going to look to do some damage this year.”
Updated 12-19-2018
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