Horne getting set for third year of pro baseball

BLOUNTSTOWN, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) -Bryson Horne is living every young ball players dream. It’s been over two year since Horne made his debut in the Braves organization but it’s still a day he remembers well.

”I’ll never forget opening night.” Bryson told me during an offseason workout here in Blountstown. “We had a great crowd in Augusta, probably about 4,5 hundred fans and it hit me. I’m standing there looking at the stadium, I’m like “man this is the journey, this is where it starts, like I’m in pro ball now.” But Horne didn’t exactly have the dream road to the show. He was a part of the shortened draft in 2020, which was cut to just five rounds. Unfortunately his name was not called. But Atlanta still wanted him to be a Brave, so Bryson had a big choice to make. “He (the Braves scout) told me ‘we want to offer you a free agency contract when free agency starts.’ I was like “okay, I need to think about it for a little bit. You know I just kind of ultimately decided I just needed to go ahead and get into pro ball.” And that was a good decision. Bryson has hit 21 homeruns at a .256 average over his first two years of low and high A ball, which has him knocking at the door of a Double-A roster spot. But Horne said that success hasn’t come easy. “Learning how to fail and accepting how to fail and building off that and learning from the success you do have.” Even as a professional, Bryson’s upbringing is not lost on him. Blountstown is where he grew up and developed his talent and he says the Tiger faithful still show him tons of support and he couldn’t be more grateful. “You know around this area, like you said, a lot of people are Braves fans. So, they watch the Braves, know who the Braves are. And especially playing kind of near here, people are like “man we’ve been watching, keeping up with you,” and that’s cool you know, those people have watched me in high school and are still keeping up with me to this day.” This past January, Blountstown held a youth camp that Bryson helped lead, his message to the kids was simple. “You can make it. It doesn’t matter where you’re from, as long as you have the work ethic, you can make it.”

Through it all, Horne remains determined and says he’s focused on working to get to the next level. He feels that could happen soon, perhaps starting this season in Double-A ball with the Braves team in Missississippi. And he remains impressed by and proud of his baseball accomplishments to this point of his life.

“If I were to look back at 8 year old me and tell myself, “hey you’re going to play for the Braves one day,” I’d be shocked, there’s no way I’d believe it. I’d be like, “you’re kidding.” It’s awesome! I forget sometimes I’m getting paid to play, I still love it like I’m a kid just playing. Especially if I get to go to Double-A, I’m two steps away from the big leagues.”

Horne set to report to Braves camp Monday the 13th in North Port, Florida, just south of Sarasota.

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