RANKINGS
EVENTS
I COMMITTED
COLLEGE
ABOUT
She’s from Michigan, but plays for Carolina Elite SC coached by Dana Fusetti and recently committed to the Gamecocks of South Carolina so there’s no doubt Reganne Bennett is willing to travel to see her dreams come true.
We profiled the junior pitcher in the Spring—check out our Extra Star Power feature on her—as we learned relatively late about this fast-rising two-way player.
But what a meteoric rise she’s made over the last year!
As we wrote when Reganne made the 2021 All-Summer Team (16U), she’s a “highly sought-after pitcher throws between 66 and 68 mph consistently and helped take her team deep at Nationals and won the Five Grand national championship.”
Earlier in the Spring, the Midwest native was listed both as a Top 10 pitcher and a Top 10 Overall Player in the 2023 Class… here’s part of what we wrote about her then:
Reganne is one of the lesser-known prospects in the Top 10 but that will all change this summer when she hits some of the national travel ball scene. She’s a power pitcher with many tools but also has a deadly bat. She throws in the mid-60’s with a great complementary change-up and in her sophomore year at Novi (Michigan) High has averaged 2.5 strikeouts per inning and is up for player of the year honors in the state. She is the new prodigy for Coach Dana Fusetti who has produced several DI pitchers including Tennessee-bound Karlyn Pickens. Says Coach Fusetti. “I think that she is going to be a very dominate Power 5 player in large part because of Reganne’s passion and desire to be the best. I feel so incredibly blessed to be coaching her and know it’s going to be a crazy fun summer for her!”
Last week, the athlete announced that she would be SEC-bound via Twitter:
I’m so excited to announce that I will be continuing my athletic and academic career at the University of South Carolina. I would like to thank my family, friends, coaches, and teammates for helping me get to where I am today! Go cocks 🤙🏻😎 @GamecockSoftbll pic.twitter.com/MLvmJWzNqm
— Reganne Bennett (@Reg_Bennett2023) October 25, 2021
We caught up with Reganne to learn more on her recruiting journey… here’s how she recaps the very interesting tale!
*****
Recruiting for me was anything but an easy process. I would like to exaggerate the word process. Things for me were constantly changing!
When I was first beginning my recruiting journey, I was emailing almost every single school you could think of. It was frustrating at times because I could never get any responses.
Therefore, I had no clue who was interested in me, let alone where I wanted to go.
The summer of my 15U season was in 2020 when COVID first hit. It was extremely challenging because it was going to be the first summer where I could really be seen by college coaches, but because of the shutdown and the dead period continuing to extend, coaches could no longer come out and watch.
That same summer, I came across my current coach, Dana Fusetti. Coach Dana has been such a blessing in my life because without her none of this would have been possible. She’s the reason I was able to be recruited at such a high level.
It’s not just because of her connections; don’t get me wrong she has a ton of them, but it was her belief in me that helped me get recruited. She knew my potential that I can play at and held me to it every single time I stepped on the field.
Dana also held me to a high standard when it came to communicating with coaches. She was always checking in with me to make sure I was sending emails or posting game highlights. Because of this, my parents and I decided to make the commitment to play for Coach Dana’s club team out of South Carolina.
Which, being from Michigan, was a lot because it’s about a 12-hour drive to go to practice every other weekend, along with tournaments but I would not have traded that for anything because I met some of the most dedicated people out there!
The girls on this team were always striving to get better and to compete at the highest level, which is something that I could relate to.
As September 1 was approaching, I kept thinking and wondering about who would call. I had some ideas, but nobody could have prepared me for what was about to happen: over 40 schools reached out to me!
I talked to every single one of them. It was a long three days’ worth of talking to coaches and balancing volleyball and softball practices and all I can say is, thankfully, I hadn’t started school yet because that would have definitely been an added stress!
Honestly, it wasn’t as stressful as I thought; it was actually super exciting!
I stayed up until around 1:30 am on September 1 to see who would call, but I didn’t end up going to bed until around 4 am because I was so excited!
That entire next week was spent evaluating and thinking about where I might want to go to school. I set up visits, along with Zoom and phone calls. I decided that I was in no rush to make my decision. When I knew where I wanted to go, that’s when I would make my decision.
I first realized that I wanted to be a Gamecock on my unofficial visit. I got to experience the day in the life of a South Carolina softball player. It started off by watching players lift weights at 6:30 in the morning. Only a couple hours in, I got that “it feeling” that everyone has been talking about!
Some of the main reasons as to why I chose USC was because it felt like I could grow both athletically and academically there. I would be able to learn in the No. 1 Sports Science program in the country while competing in the SEC for a national championship.
Also, as I got to know the coaches, I could tell that they were not only invested in me as an athlete, but also as a person. I even got the chance to talk to some of the girls that are currently on the team.
The thing that stuck out the most for me is that the players said the coaches won’t treat you differently when you get on campus. You hear about certain programs that while you are getting recruited, they treat you amazingly but, as soon as you get on campus your freshman year, they become this whole other person.
From what it sounded like, the South Carolina coaches are consistent with their actions and words. Not only that, I was told, they are dedicated to getting every single girl better each day.
Another big factor that goes into choosing a school is the campus… Anytime there’s palm trees on campus, it’s a very good thing in my opinion!
Seriously, though, the athletic village is very convenient for student athletes and, as a softball player, you do your weights and then go across the street into the Dodie (which is the athletic academic center) to eat food or get your tutoring in.
Then you walk a little bit further down and there’s the softball field. Not only is there everything you need right there, but it is very easy to get to the dorms and the rest of campus.
I won’t deny the fact that even though USC has so much to offer, so did plenty of other schools.
All the programs that I was interested in had phenomenal educational opportunities, facilities, coaches, and teams. I took my time to explore all my options. I went to plenty of camps and visits and, ultimately, I felt like the University of South Carolina was the place for me.
The process was stressful at times, but I am glad that I took my time because it allowed me to find my future home.
Now, I have some advice for younger girls…
Everyone develops at their own pace. Just because you might not be as widely known or you don’t throw as hard, or you’re a little wild on the mound, it doesn’t mean you don’t have as much potential as that other girl.
If you believe in yourself and put in the work, then you can play somewhere in college.
But let me stress this part: you have to put in the work!
A lot of people don’t realize how much you must sacrifice to get to the next level. Speaking from experience, though, it’s so worth it!
Without all of the sacrifices from myself and my family, I would not have been blessed with the opportunity to further my academic career while playing collegiate softball. If you want it bad enough, you can make it happen!
— Reganne Bennett, Class of 2023