One of the more underrated transfer prospects from the Pacific Northwest has elected to stay close to home and play for coach Eddie Smith and the Washington Huskies.
Braeden Reese, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound sophomore catcher from Bellevue College, announced his transfer on Thursday on social media.
Over the past year, Reese made significant improvements both behind the plate and as a hitter, improving his batting average from .248 as a freshman to .322 this past season as a sophomore and finished with 13 runners caught stealing–more than double the five he threw out in 2024-25.
Similarly, Reese’s number of passed balls allowed diminished drastically from 14 to three, a sign that he’s more than capable of handling himself as a lead catcher should that be the role Smith calls for him to fill behind returning star Colton Bower, who finished second on the team batting .311 with 12 home runs and 36 runs batted in over 39 starts in 2026.
During a stint this spring, Reese went 11-for-20 at the plate, including three games with three hits, which helped BC earn a series split against Shoreline Community College. Although Reese doesn’t possess the raw power numbers in terms of home runs, his ability to spray the ball to all three parts of the field and drive runners in through extra-base hits, the addition should give Smith a strong option behind the plate heading into his third season on Montlake, along with Bower.
Given that Bower has one more season of eligibility remaining, it gives the Huskies baseball program an experienced stopgap while also providing a versatile, dependable backup who also played third base and became a utility player for Skyview High School in Vancouver, Washington.
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Washington Baseball Adds Bellevue College C Braeden Reese
