By STEVE KRAH
As the son of a former professional baseball player, Bryce Riggs has been soaking up the diamond life at an advanced level for most of his life.
“I’ve always been around the game from a young age,” says Riggs, 19. “I just fell in love with it.
“(My father) would tell me how hard you have to work to get where you want to be,” says Bryce. “The biggest thing I’ve got from him is a work ethic.”
Brownsburg (Ind.) High School alum Eric Riggs played at the University of Central Florida and then Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros and Miami Marlins organizations and in independent ball and Australia.
Bryce used to say his favorite player was Eric Riggs. At about the time he started travel ball, that switched to Bryce Harper because they shared a first name.
Eric and Tricia Riggs have four baseball-playing sons. Besides oldest Bryce, there’s twins Blake (16) and Brooks (16) and Beckett (12).
Right-handed pitcher Bryce Riggs just completed his freshman season at Eastern Illinois University. He is a 2023 graduate of Noblesville (Ind.) High School.
Millers Blake and Brooks are in the NHS Class of 2026. Beckett is heading into the seventh grade in 2024-25. All three younger brothers play travel ball for the Indiana Bulls, following in the footsteps of their father and older brother. Eric Riggs, a BSN Sports sales professional, coaches Blake and Brooks.
At EIU, Bryce made 17 mound appearances (10 starts) in 2024 and went 4-2 with a 7.35 earned run average, 46 strikeouts and 29 walks in 56 1/3 innings. He was named the Ohio Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week March 18 for a Panthers squad that went 20-33.
The starting rotation was set going into the season then injuries called for the righty to be used in that role.
“I like being a starter,” says Riggs. “I also like coming out of bullpen in a situation where I need to hold, get a save or close the game.
“Coming out of the bullpen, I an light off the gas for an inning or two, give it all that I have and be ready to go the next day or the day after that.”
This summer, Riggs is a reliever for the college wood-bat Prospect League’s Danville (Ind.) Dans.
The 6-foot, 195-pounder comes straight over the top with a collection of pitches that include a four-seam fastball, curveball, change-up, slider and, very recently, a sinker.
Riggs’ four-seamer hit 93 mph in high school and has topped out at 92 in college, sitting a 89 to 91.
His curve has a 12-to-6 action.
He employs a “circle” change.
The slider tends to move 10-to-3.
His aim with the sinker?
“I’m trying to get a little run to keep the ball out of the air,” says Riggs. “College hitters are a lot more advanced.
“A high 80s or low 90’s fastball is not going to necessarily beat them every time. I’m just trying to get something with a little movement.”
Jason Anderson is the head coach and Brad Merritt the pitching coach at Eastern Illinois and Riggs appreciates the wisdom they have imparted.
“I’ve just learned to compete, control what you control, attack hitters and not be scared when you’re out there (on the mound),” says Riggs. “And do whatever you can to help the team win.”
The Business Management major turns 20 in September.
Bryce was born in Indianapolis and was in Fishers, Ind., until about 7 then the family moved to Noblesville.
When he was 16, they landed in Cicero, Ind. He played T-ball in Fishers and was in Noblesville Youth Baseball from 7U (at age 6) to 11U (at age 10) then the Indiana Bulls from 11U to 17U followed by an 18U summer with a Jeremy Honaker-coached Bulls squad of college commits. Honaker is now associate head coach at Indiana University-Kokomo.
The summer of 2023 also featured the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association North/South All-Star Series in Lafayette.
Growing up, Bryce played shortstop, second base and third base and would occasionally pitch. He was a starter his last two years at Noblesville.
Losing the 2020 freshmen season to the COVID-19 pandemic Riggs was a three-year varsity player at Noblesville.
As a travel ball teammate and classmate of Dylan Keever, Riggs knew Dylan’s father and Millers head coach Justin Keever for years prior to high school.
“I really enjoyed it,” says Riggs of his time playing for Keever. “My junior year I realized how much I could slow it down and just go out there and play. He was really big on leadership, too.
“It’s organic. It’s whoever steps up in that role of a leader.”
Having played up a year throughout travel ball, Riggs knew what it meant to steer a team and members of his class did just that in 2023 with a roster that featured youthful regulars Trevor Corbett (Class of 2025) and Aiden Reynolds (Class of 2026). The ’23 Millers went 23-7 and won the Hoosier Crossroads Conference.
Bryce is a Chicago Cubs fan. Since Eric played with former Cubs manager David Ross in the Dodgers system, the family has got to be on the grass at Wrigley Field and Busch Stadium in St. Louis and enjoyed a lunch with Ross. When Eastern Illinois opened the 2024 season at Florida A&M, the Riggs had breakfast with Tallahassee resident Ross.
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