Dual-sport athlete Bryce Boettcher prepares for upcoming Ducks football season

Two-sport athlete Bryce Boettcher may have joined the University of Oregon as a baseball player, but football was also important to him. In June, the outfielder was named a Rawlings Gold Glove recipient by the Rawlings Baseball company and the American Baseball Coaches Association.

Now, he’ll finish out his time as a Duck playing football as UO has officially joined the Big Ten Conference. In the spring, Boettcher will report to the Astros after football season under an agreement with the team and the university. He was selected by the Houston team with the No. 403 overall pick in July.

We catch up with Boettcher, who grew up in Eugene, about the upcoming football season and his time as a dual-sport athlete at the university.

Note: The following transcript was created by a computer and edited by a volunteer.

Geoff Norcross: From the Gert Boyle Studio at OPB, this is Think Out Loud. I’m Geoff Norcross. Bryce Boettcher has realized his dream of playing professional baseball. After an award-winning career with the University of Oregon baseball team, he was selected this summer in the 13th round of the major league draft by the Houston Astros. He’ll report to the team in the spring. But first, he has some football to play. Boettcher is also an inside linebacker for the Oregon Ducks football team. We wanted to talk to the two-sports stars before the new season gets going.

Bryce Boettcher joins us now from Eugene. Bryce, welcome to Think Out Loud and congratulations.

Bryce Boettcher: Thank you. Thanks for having me.

Norcross: So football, it’s a rough sport and you could have been forgiven for skipping this season, taking care of your body, avoiding injury before your professional baseball career got started. Why take the chance and play football this season?

Boettcher: I’m a Eugene, Oregon local. I grew up having season tickets to all the games and it was my dream since I was a little kid to play for the Ducks. So I figured one last year, given the talent we have on the team and the situation I’m in just to gamble on myself, and you can’t put a price on college football and the memories you make with it. So that’s why I chose to stay for one more fall.

Norcross: Are you gonna have to do anything different though? Are you going to have to make any kind of adjustments to take care of yourself, knowing that you have a professional baseball career ahead of you?

Boettcher: I’ve definitely thought about it. But throughout my entire career, I’ve always been someone who’s been, I guess, you could say “balls to the wall.” And I’m a believer that if you’re always going 100%, you’re never half in, half out. It’s really easy to avoid injury. I feel like once you’re kind of one foot in the door, one foot out of the door, trying to hit someone half speed, that’s when you get yourself injured. So obviously, I’m on my prehab/rehab regimen, but yeah, I’m just playing like I did every other season. God willing I stay healthy.

Norcross: So when did you realize that you didn’t have to choose? I mean, I know you went to the U of O so you could play baseball. But when did you realize that football could be a part of your life, too?

Boettcher: I’d say it was my sophomore year, once I decided to walk onto the team. Dan Lanning got the head coaching job there. And I had a baseball team at the time named Josh Kasevich who plays professional baseball for the Blue Jays. He knew my football background a little bit and he was kind of pushing my buttons. [He was] like, “hey, man, you gotta go, you gotta go give it a shot.” [Laughter] And I was like, “no, I’m gonna stick with baseball.”

Then after some thought and I talked to my dad, I was like, you know what, I’d be kicking myself down the road if I didn’t give it a go. So then kind of at that point I realized this might actually be a legitimate future for me.

Norcross: What did your dad say about that?

Boettcher: He was pumped, man. He was like, obviously, I think you could be a great baseball player and that doesn’t necessarily have to go away. But he, like I said, was just as big of an Oregon football fan as I was, so he was all for it.

Norcross: What about your coaches? Did any of them express concerns about you doing both?

Boettcher: Yeah, my baseball coach. He definitely expressed his concern, but he was one of the main contributors and factors into me playing football. There was actually a walk on tryout that fell on a game day. It was a Friday … forget who we were playing in the spring. I wasn’t able to go to the tryout. He actually reached out to Coach Lanning for me and scheduled a meeting so I can meet with him, and get things set up for summer workout so I could join the team. Without him, I wouldn’t be here. So I’m blessed to have had him in my corner. But don’t get me wrong, he was definitely concerned over the years for my well being.

Norcross: Does the coaching staff for both teams have to collaborate in some way or make some sort of adjustments for you so you could play on both?

Boettcher: Yeah, they did. Coach Lanning and Coach Wasikowski are well connected. And they had to talk often, especially in the spring with baseball and how hectic our schedule was. I did a good job communicating with them about where I was going to be and what time. Obviously, when it’s baseball season, I’m full baseball and I’d go to football when I could. And then when it’s football season, I’m full football and would pop over to baseball practice when I could.

Norcross: How common is it for athletes to play two sports at this level?

Boettcher: All I know of is there was a quarterback at UCF and a baseball player – I think he plays for or got drafted by the Steelers. His name is John Rhys Plumlee. I know he plays two sports. I know there was a kid for USC, I wanna say, who did football and baseball. I can’t remember his name. I just remember reading something somewhere. Then JonJon Vaughns for UCLA, who played football and baseball. Other than those three, those are the only ones I know of at the Division I level, I’m sure there’s others, but that’s certainly not that common.

Norcross: Bryce, one thing that’s new with football – and there’s been a lot of talk about this – is the fact that you are in the Big Ten now and not the Pac-12 anymore. So that’s going to involve a lot more travel. How is that going to affect your year?

Boettcher: It’s exciting. I grew up watching All Pac-12 sports because I’m from here. So it’s sad to see the conference go. But change happens for a reason, so I’m excited to be a part of the change and to play with the new teams. And we get to play some pretty cool venues this year, so I’m excited to get some good programs coming into Eugene, Oregon to play us. So honestly, it doesn’t change all that much other than just the length of the travel. On the travel days, obviously, it will be a bit longer. But I’m pumped for the season.

Norcross: Where are you especially excited to play for the first time?

Boettcher: I’d certainly say The Big House over there in Michigan.

Norcross: [Laughter] I think that will be fun. You’ve got your degree?

Boettcher: Yes, I do.

Norcross: What is it in?

Boettcher: Social science with an emphasis in economics.

Norcross: How did you juggle all the obligations you had with sports and getting that degree?

Boettcher: My academic advisor helped me out a lot. I was able to take the majority of my classes online, which certainly helped. If I had to go to class, there’s no way I would have been able to do it. So I certainly did go to some classes when my schedule allowed, but for the most part, it was online. I’d go to football practice in the morning, pop over to baseball practice in the afternoon and then finish up my studies online around seven [or] eight o’clock, nine o’clock – a little two to three hour window there. So between my academic advisor, and just staying disciplined in my schedule and my routine, that’s how I was able to do it.

Norcross: I don’t know how this works. Was there any question about your eligibility to play this year, given that you have your degree and everything and you have this obligation coming up in the spring? Did anybody question whether you could play for the Ducks this season?

Boettcher: No. I think eligibility-wise, I was all set to play. It was just a matter of whether I wanted to do that or whatnot.

Norcross: So when you report for duty with the Houston Astros in the spring, what are you expecting?

Boettcher: What am I expecting? It’s a good question.

Norcross: Do you anticipate you’ll play some minor league ball first?

Boettcher: Yeah, obviously. I’m going to report to spring training here and I think they said February. So I’ll go out to Florida for a bit, I think about a month probably. And then depending how I do out there, they’ll ship me off to a minor league team. Where at, I’m not entirely sure yet. But wherever they send me, I’ll be happy to go and get my professional baseball career underway. I’m excited for it.

Norcross: At no point in your time at the U of O did you think, actually, I think I like football better? Did you ever consider for a moment a professional football career instead?

Boettcher: I definitely have. People always ask me what my favorite sport is and I can never decide. I mean, I try to just say whatever is in season, just to give them a simple answer. But both sports are so different and so amazing. And like I said, I have thought about a professional football career and if I have a really good season this year, like I did last, it’s certainly a possibility. It’s not too far-fetched by any means, but I feel like baseball at the end of the day, it’s probably better for my brain and my body. So it’s probably the smarter decision.

Norcross: Yeah, probably. In your college career, you, of course, had to step away from it like everybody did during the pandemic. That was several months of you not competing at all. What did that time off do for you?

Boettcher: That time off gave me perspective. As a matter of fact, during that time, I was sitting on my butt for about a month, didn’t know what to do. I was like, I gotta go get a job. So I decided to go get a landscaping job for Logan’s Outdoor. For six to seven months I was raking leaves, mowing lawns and digging ditches, replacing irrigation.

In the moment, I was learning a lot, and met some pretty cool and interesting people in that field of work to say the least. But ultimately, it just gave me perspective into what I don’t want to do [laughter] with my life when I’m done playing. Being a landscaper is not one of them.

Norcross: Professional baseball player? Landscaper? OK. That choice is easy for you.

Boettcher: Exactly. And when we’re at the field, I have teammates who haven’t worked a minimum wage job before. I will be at the facility … it’s like we’re in fall camp right now. It’s day 15 in a row and you’re like, man, this sucks. But I’m like, I think back to those days when it’s Friday, it’s three o’clock in the afternoon and I’m sweating. It’s 95 degrees and I’m still digging a ditch for hour seven. [Laughter] Like, man, well, this day 15 of fall camp is actually great compared to that. So, yeah, I just say it gave me perspective.

Norcross: You said that you grew up in Eugene …

Boettcher: I did.

Norcross: And you were a Ducks fan all your life. What has it been like for you to be a part of this?

Boettcher: It’s been amazing. Obviously, my first game at Autzen was a dream come true and the first game at PK Park was a dream come true. You can’t really put it into words – I’ve tried to. The people ask, but it seems like no word really does it justice. It’s just really cool to have all my family, friends and people I’ve met over the years from Eugene be able to come out to the games, support me and see what I’ve been able to do for the community of Eugene, to say the least. Because in the past, there’s not been a lot of local kids that have been able to come through the University of Oregon and do what I’ve done. So it’s been cool to see and cool to kind of pave the path for other kids that want to do it.

Norcross: Well, Bryce Boettcher, it was a pleasure to talk to you. Best of luck in the season and best of luck next spring as well. Thank you so much.

Boettcher: Thank you, appreciate it.

Norcross: Bryce Boettcher is a standout athlete at the University of Oregon. The new football season begins this month and he reports for spring training with the Houston Astros next year.

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