Plant City’s Tanner Rollyson played three years of varsity baseball for the Raiders, ultimately leading to a commitment to continue his athletic and academic career at Florida Southern College in Lakeland.
As a freshman Rollyson played junior varsity baseball at Plant City before making his varsity debut as a sophomore where he totaled 18 strikeouts, two saves and a 2.1 earned run average across 20 innings pitched. As a junior captain, he amassed a 4-1 record and 25 strikeouts alongside a perfect 0.00 earned run average — not allowing a single earned run over his 24 innings pitched as he earned 1st Team All-Conference honors. As a senior, Rollyson finished the year with a 4.15 ERA and struck out a staggering 36 hitters across 27 innings pitched in 13 appearances. In addition to his high school play, Rollyson was credited as the winning pitcher in both the 2022 Perfect Game National Championships and 2022 Prep Baseball Report National Championships as a member of the Ostingers Baseball Academy travel ball organization, an organization filled with players from Plant City, Durant and Strawberry Crest that reached a No. 2 national ranking last summer.
Rollyson mentions that the biggest way in which he has grown on the field throughout his high school career is his mental approach to the game, something he credits Plant City’s coaching staff with, along with a major influence from Ostingers coach Jim Osting and a consistent opportunity to face elite talent throughout the entire year between high school baseball in the Tampa area and highly-competitive travel ball opportunities.
“I didn’t join the Ostingers until my sophomore year so I already had a taste of what Tampa area baseball was like and I had seen how competitive it was so then I wanted to step up my travel ball game and join a competitive team,” Rollyson said. “It really helps prepare you both ways. High school in the spring, being in a Tampa area that’s so competitive helps you prepare for the summer and the fall for travel ball, and then it’s the same where the summer and fall with travel ball helps you prepare for the spring season in high school baseball. You face great teams in high school and then turn around in the summer and face nationally-ranked teams. You get no breaks so it really prepares you to face any team and any player.”
Additionally, Rollyson has had the opportunity to not just see fellow teammates go on to play collegiate baseball, but was able to learn from some that would eventually find themselves in professional baseball — looking to emulate the pitching style of former Plant City High School and Florida State pitcher Parker Messick, a second round pick by Cleveland in 2022, and learning from a mentor in J.J. Niekro, a Tampa native, brother of Florida Southern head coach Lance Niekro and former pitcher at Florida Southern that currently plays in the Atlanta Braves organization.
“That helped me a ton,” Rollyson said. “Looking up to Parker at Plant City as a left handed pitcher, he was kind of the person that I was trying to follow and trying to mimic. We were both similar size, both left-handed, he was the guy that I was trying to emulate. Then J.J., he started to get with me a couple of years ago and working out with me, helping me out in those stressful moments and showing me how to not only work hard but how to do it the right way. It ultimately helped me become a better baseball player but also a better person all around, so J.J. has been a big part of that for me and I still keep in contact with him.”
As Rollyson’s recruitment process began, he noted that it’s a tough process for many, but that benefitted from his travel ball situation until he found a home in Florida Southern.
“The recruitment process isn’t friendly to a lot of people,” Rollyson said. “For me it could have been a lot worse. It was definitely long and stressful but for the most part it wasn’t too bad. I mean, the first coach that ever called me after a tournament was from Harvard, so after that call I realized that if I could talk to a coach from Harvard, I could talk to anyone. Being on the Ostingers definitely helped, having (Strawberry Crest shortstop and MLB Draft prospect) Arjun Nimmala and a few other guys on our team that draw scouts to every one of our games, you’re going to have guys looking at you from every angle every time you step on the mound. So that definitely played a big part but ultimately I loved everything about Florida Southern. I have personal connection with Coach Niekro through J.J. mentoring me the past few years, but Coach Crabtree was the main one that recruited me. He was as nice as he could be and I could tell with the way he acted that he wanted the best for me no matter what. Ultimately him and Coach Niekro, the location being in Lakeland — not too far from home — was all perfect for me. I love the school, I love the campus, I already have some connections with some professors there so Florida Southern really stuck out to me in basically every single category.”
Apart from baseball, Rollyson was involved in a number of different athletic and extracurricular ventures both at Plant City High School and within the community. As a member of the Raiders’ tennis team, Rollyson qualified for the FHSAA State Championships in doubles as a sophomore, winning the district championship in singles as both a sophomore and junior, earning 1st Team All-Conference honors as a junior and being named a captain as both a junior and senior. As a general education partner with the Special Olympics Unified Basketball team, he was a bronze medalist at the 2022 USA Special Olympic World Games. He was also the PCHS Interact Club President, the PCHS Yearbook Editor, a member of the National Honor Society and the National Junior Honor Society vice president — graduating with a 6.48 weighted GPA and a perfect 4.0 unweighted GPA. He logged over 270 community service hours as a volunteer with the non-profit volunteer organization Friends of the Park and as a Crisis Pregnancy Center Walkathon leader, all while keeping his faith at the forefront of his life through involvement with his church youth group.
“Without my faith I wouldn’t be who I am today,” Rollyson said. “Jesus loves me more than anyone else and he’s always there for me, 24/7 through the ups and downs. High school can be stressful for everyone growing up so Christ has been a big part of that, helping me stay composed with my busy schedule, helping me stay stress free. He’s always there for me and is always a person that I can turn to in need of help, no matter what the situation is. Faith has always been a giant part of my life, especially these past few years.”