Hampton grad Tyler Bischke: 'No-brainer' to play for Pitt

Tyler Bischke’s college baseball career took him thousands of miles away before bringing him back to nearly where he started.

And right back to where he wanted.

After playing at three schools in four years, including programs in southcentral Oklahoma and New Orleans, the Hampton graduate spent his final season with his hometown Pitt Panthers.

“It just happened to work out perfectly,” Bischke said. “Having the opportunity to play in the ACC while being at home, it really was a no-brainer.”

Bischke, who transferred to Pitt after two seasons at Division I New Orleans, started all 55 games at second base for the Panthers (26-29, 10-22 ACC), whose season ended with a 12-2 loss to No. 7 North Carolina on May 23 at the ACC championships.

“The year was an absolute blast,” Bischke said. “Obviously, we didn’t perform the way we wanted to, and we wanted to win every single game. But the guys on that team were truly special. This was the most special team I’ve ever been a part of, as far as the culture goes.”

Bischke was named the nation’s No. 16 second baseman in the D1Baseball.com Preseason Top 50, and he lived up to his billing. He doubled and scored in his first at-bat and didn’t slow down, hitting .285 (57-for-200) with a team-high 14 doubles, along with two home runs, 29 runs scored and 32 RBIs. He also brought leadership.

“He was a plug-and-play blue-chipper for us,” Pitt coach Mike Bell said. “He was a big part of our success throughout the year.”

Bischke’s journey started with a covid-shortened 2020 at Kent State before he transferred to Murray State, a tiny junior college in Tishomingo, Okla., where he hit .331 in 2021.

From there, he transferred to New Orleans, where he hit .294 as a junior before enjoying a breakthrough ’23 season. He was named first-team All-Southland after batting .309 with 12 home runs and 58 runs scored.

After his senior season, Bischke entered the transfer portal. He received interest from Big 12, SEC and Big Ten programs, but when Pitt reached out, the search was over. Bischke, who wasn’t recruited by Pitt out of high school, committed in June 2023 as a graduate student.

“It was really a no-doubter whenever that opportunity came knocking,” Bischke said. “That meant a lot to me.”

With Bischke’s help, Pitt enjoyed wins over No. 3 Clemson, No. 8 Oklahoma, No. 10 Florida State and No. 17 Duke.

One highlight included a three-run HR in the seventh and a tying RBI single in the eighth as host Pitt rallied to beat Duke, 11-10, on April 14.

He went 3 for 5 with two runs scored in an 8-4 win over Clemson on April 20 and had one of the Panthers’ three hits in a 1-0 victory over Florida State on May 10.

He also played well in the field. In a 19-9 win over Oklahoma on March 1 in Las Vegas, his dazzling diving catch in shallow right field was viewed widely on social media.

“My phone was blowing up after that game, for sure,” he said. “I was getting a lot of love for that one. That was awesome. I’ll definitely remember that one.”

Bischke, who turns 24 in July, is preparing for the next phase in life. He has a finance degree from New Orleans — he was named the 2023 Southland Conference Baseball Student-Athlete of the Year — and a digital media certificate from Pitt, and he knows pro baseball is a long shot.

“(Independent league) ball is always an option,” he said. “I have plenty of connections to where I could definitely pursue that. … But if that was my last baseball game, I am at peace with that. The big factor is the effort that I’ve put in over the years. It would be a lot different if I never did any of the extra stuff. But I have no regrets.”