Legendary Opportunity for Bryan Fuller

Bryan Fuller, Loan and Business Development Officer, grew up playing baseball from a young age. While he continued to play through high school and college, this summer, he’s living out a childhood dream by pitching on a semi-professional level as a relief pitcher for the Lexington Legends in The Battle of the Bourbon Trail. 

Have you been playing baseball your entire life?
I started playing baseball at a very young age and played for Logan County High School and Campbellsville University during college. I also gave lessons for a few years after that but I didn’t play again until I moved to Lexington in 2018. I started playing again in the summer of 2019 in a wooden bat adult baseball league called LABL- Lexington Adult Baseball League. 

How did this opportunity come about?
The LABL season was just about to start this summer when a former Campbellsville University alumnus reached out and told me about the league that the Lexington Legends and the Florence Y’alls were putting together called The Battle of the Bourbon Trail. I laughed it off, but she actually passed my contact information onto the team, and (to my surprise), I was contacted by the Lexington Legends’ coach the next day about being a relief pitcher for the team. We discussed some specifics about the restrictions to my schedule due to my employment at First Southern and my military duties.

Do you play every game?
The Legends understood my circumstances and availability and have allowed me to only pitch on the weekends, with the majority being Saturday home games. I am not required to attend every game, as games are every night, Wednesday through Sunday. The season is relatively short, running from early August to mid-September.

How often do you practice?
Zero. My practice comes from playing in the yard with my 1 and 5-year-old sons.

What is the best part about playing with the Legends?
There are so many things that I love. Amazingly, I have taken my family and friends to the stadium here in Lexington to experience baseball at this level. The opportunity to compete with young professional athletes from around the country is simply a blessing. Many of the players are high draft picks and are currently under contract with affiliated and independent teams, not to mention the handful of players that have big-league experience. I hope that my oldest son will have memories of these games that will inspire him to pursue the great game of baseball. It has also been great to build relationships with most of the guys on the team, as well as the fantastic Lexington Legend’s staff. Due to COVID-19, many baseball fans genuinely missed the sport, and it’s been so great to be able to play and for the community to come out and enjoy it during this crazy year. This is just another opportunity that God has granted me through First Southern during my short time here in Lexington after transferring from Russellville. My family and I have truly been blessed.

What has been the most challenging part of this experience?
Due to COVID-19, the stadium has a capacity limit and spacing requirements. Every other row is empty, and fans must wear masks if they are not seated. Many of the games have been sold out due to Brandon Phillips bringing the crowd in, so I hate that more people can’t experience them. However, it has been fun to play in front of the Lexington community.

If you want to watch Bryan in action, you still have a few more opportunities as the season officially ends on September 13th. Bryan has been with First Southern National Bank since 2010 and has served in various roles throughout the organization from Teller in Russellville to his current role in Loan and Business Development. He may be reached at (859) 219-4145 or at  [email protected]. Bryan lives in Lexington with his wife, Jessica, and their two sons Ace Christian, and Talon Lee. Jessica is an RN at UK Healthcare – Center for Advanced Surgery.

📷 Action shot courtesy of Tonia Witt Photo