Nature Coast’s Bryce Hewell commits to Southeastern University in Lakeland

Bryce Hewell’s next stop is Lakeland, where the Nature Coast senior will continue his baseball and academic career at Southeastern University, keeping one of Hernando County’s top players in Florida for the next stage of his climb.

The commitment fits a season in which Hewell became one of the Sharks’ most reliable players. Through the spring, the right-hander was batting .368 with 20 runs batted in, and he also gave Nature Coast important innings on the mound. In relief, Hewell appeared nine times, posting one win, six saves and a 1.20 earned run average.

His rise did not happen all at once. Hewell played junior varsity as a freshman, moved to varsity and started in right field as a sophomore, then built into a senior who could help decide postseason games. MaxPreps listed his 2025-26 varsity line at .362 with 25 hits, 19 RBIs and 19 runs in 22 games. Across his varsity career, he finished with 48 games played, a .324 average, 44 hits and 30 RBIs.

The biggest moments came when the Sharks needed them most. Nature Coast entered the postseason at 22-3, a record that guaranteed at least the third-highest win total in school history, and Hewell helped push the program to another milestone by delivering in pressure spots. He worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth inning of a 5-3 win over Hernando High in the Class 3A-District 7 championship, helping secure Nature Coast’s third district title in the last five seasons. Earlier, on April 3, he delivered a walk-off RBI single in a comeback win over Umatilla.

The move to Southeastern also keeps Hewell close enough for Nature Coast supporters to keep tracking him. The Fire were ranked No. 11 in preseason coverage for 2025 and have been one of the NAIA’s most consistent powers, reaching the Opening Round for the seventh straight season and the World Series for the sixth straight time. Southeastern’s records page lists national titles in 2018 and 2022, along with a runner-up finish in 2025.

For Hewell’s family, the commitment adds mileage but not distance in spirit. His grandfather, 76-year-old Joe St. Pierre of Ocala, has driven to every Nature Coast home and away game for four years, including a trip to Cooperstown, New York, when Hewell was 11. St. Pierre said the Lakeland trip will add about 45 miles each way to his commute, but he plans to keep showing up. For a Nature Coast player who rose from junior varsity to a college signing, that kind of support has been part of the story from the start.