Jesse Reid’s freshman year at Virginia Commonwealth University has been somewhere between overwhelming and unbelievable. The two-sport star at Powhatan High School finished his 2007 senior year without any major college program offering him a scholarship or even seriously looking at him.

Undaunted, the 6’4” right hander decided to walk on at VCU last fall. From there it has been “unexplainable, really great, but really crazy,” Reid attempted to explain.

“Jesse has been more than a pleasant surprise, I can’t say enough about him,” said the Rams’ pitching coach and recruiting coordinator, Shawn Stiffler.

“We thought about red-shirting him, but he took off in fall practice and we decided to keep him on the active roster.” Reid’s size, natural competitiveness and his “ability to get guys out from the start,” carried over into the spring, according to his coach, and Reid was rewarded with a partial scholarship for his efforts.

For now, Reid fills the role of spot and middle reliever for the Rams very young squad. “I sit in the bull pen wondering when I’ll go in but always remembering that without a little luck I could be somewhere else, anywhere else. Then you get to thinking in your head what could be down the road,” he said, unable to disguise his enthusiasm.

His biggest adjustment to college life has been in time management. He misses a lot of regular classes because of the long baseball season, exacerbated by fall practice, weight training and long and frequent road trips.

“The professors are very understanding about letting me make up classes, but still it’s crazy,” he said.

Arm problems in his junior year may very well have been a blessing in disguise for Reid. Difficulty in coming over the top with his normally effective fastball led to the development of a very good curve ball. Although he can deliver an 85-86 mph fast ball, the curve ball is now his out pitch. He will also occasionally serve up a change-up but lacks confidence in it. “I’m not always sure where it’s going to end up,” he admitted.

His position coach agrees that he does have a good curve ball but feels his greatest strength is his competitiveness. “We’re very confident in him, but the big thing is he has a knack for his pitches missing the barrel of the bat,” said coach Stiffler.

Neither coach nor player is confident of what the future holds for Jesse Reid.

“He could develop into a starter or a closer. His future is in his own hands and how he continues to work hard in the weight room,” Stiffler said.

“It’s hard to say,” Reid pondered. “I may develop into a starter. It’s all about being confident without being cocky.”

Reid has appeared in seven games, compiling a 3.40 ERA overall (2.25 in Conference play). He averages almost seven strike outs per nine innings and has yet to give up a home run. The normally nationally ranked Rams have started slowly at 7-16 because of injuries, particularly to experienced players, on an already very young starting roster. The experience gained by the younger players, Reid included, can only mean good things in the Rams’ future.

“We’re very glad to have established this link with the Powhatan baseball program,” said Stiffler, “and [to] have another prospect from that program(shortstop Brent Mikionis) coming in next year.”