Jason Reitz is your new favorite college baseball player you (probably) didn’t know exists prior to this post you are reading right now. He is a junior at the University of Oregon and makes opposing batters look minuscule in comparison.
The right-handed pitcher stands just one inch shy of seven feet.
The Ducks list Reitz, who something of an anomaly in college baseball, on the roster at 6-foot-11, 215 pounds. You cannot miss him as soon as he steps onto the diamond. You can always find him in the dugout!
Reitz was a pretty big deal on the high school baseball scene in California but Tommy John surgery as a senior caused his stock to drop at the worst possible time. As a result, the No. 38 overall recruit in The Golden State initially committed to Saint Mary’s.
He spent two years with the Gaels and finished second on the team with 65 strikeouts last season. It was there that he first received attention on the national level, in large part because of his height.
Reitz entered the transfer portal after his impressive sophomore season and ultimately committed to Oregon. The soon-to-be Big Ten pitcher also received into an invitation to compete in the Cape Cod League last summer, where he recorded a 2.30 ERA among some of the top talent in the country.
His fastball sits 93-97 miles per hour with a changeup and a slider that hovers around 86-88.
Although the Ducks mostly use Reitz out of the bullpen at first, they put him on the bump as their third weekend starter in each of the last three weeks. He went five innings on Sunday in a win over Oregon State. It is a joy to watch him go to work.
Even Major League Baseball took notice of his height!
Jason Reitz is draft eligible next month. I am curious to see whether a professional team takes a flier on a guy with serious potential to develop into one of the tallest arms in the league. Maybe he will choose to stay in college another year to keep perfecting his craft. Either way, I would like to be the president of his fan club. We may never see another 6-foot-11 pitcher of this caliber. Enjoy him while you can!