During his freshman year at the University of Houston Reese attended the Houston Cougars' fall baseball practice, hitting a home run in a scrimmage against Texas A&M.[8] Despite Reese's experience as a shortstop, it was suggested by coach Todd Whitting that he would be used as a utility player throughout the 2024 season. Slashing .375/.484/.667 for the season, Reese started in left field for the Cougars' final game of the 2024 Astros Foundation College Classic on March 3 against UL Lafayette.[9][10] In a game which went 11 innings and took almost 4+1⁄2 hours to complete, Reese recorded two runs from a triple and a walk with three strikeouts before Houston defeated Louisiana 13–10.[11]
Three days later, he was brought in to pinch hit against the Sam Houston Bearkats at bottom of the ninth inning in the opening game of the Don Sander's Cup.[12] Reese delivered a 2-RBI double to walk-off Sam Houston and secure UH a 2–1 victory, and the Cougars went on to win the Cup later that May.[13]
At the end of the season, Reese was named to the 2024 All-Big 12 Freshman Team, having batted .278 for the season with seven home runs, 34 RBIs, and four triples, as well as recording the third-most home runs by a Big 12 freshman, fifth-most RBI, and second-most triples in the league.[14] He was also one of three Cougars with an 11-game hitting streak, and recorded hits in 12 of his first 13 games.[15]
Over the summer, Reese played for the Orange County Riptide of the California Collegiate League (CCL) and was chosen to represent the Riptides' South Division in the 2024 CCL Showcase after slashing .369/.446/.524.[16] Reese was named to the 2024 CCL All-South Division and All-League Teams at the end of the collegiate summer baseball season.[17]
On July 2, 2024, it was announced that Reese had entered the transfer portal and committed to Mississippi State University (MSU) and the Mississippi State Bulldogs.[18]
Reese participated in the 2025 Astros Foundation College Classic, his second tournament appearance and first as a member of the Mississippi State Bulldogs, after which he was named the 2025 All-Tournament Team's third baseman.[19]
In the Bulldogs' final series of the 2025 regular season, facing the Missouri Tigers, Reese went 8-for-12 with four home runs, six RBIs, 11 runs and five walks.[20] By the end of the season, Reese ranked third in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) with his .718 slugging percentage, tied fourth with 21 home runs, fifth in on-base plus slugging percentage at 1.140, tied fifth in both doubles (18) and sacrifice flies (5), tied seventh for both hits (80) and RBI (66), and ranked eighth the SEC with a .352 batting average.[21] He was honored as SEC Player of the Week after MSU's series against Missouri, and selected to represent Mississippi State as a finalist for the Ferriss Trophy—an annual award given to the top college baseball player in Mississippi—which was ultimately won by Southern Miss pitcher JB Middleton.[22] Reese was also a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy.[23]
After recognition as SEC Newcomer of the Year and selection to the 2025 All-SEC First Baseball Team, Reese was named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) All-America First Team, Baseball America and American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)-Rawlings All-America Second Teams, and Perfect Game All-America Third Team, all as a third baseman or infielder.[24] He was further selected by D1Baseball to its All-America Second Team as a designated hitter.[25] Despite rumors of Reese entering the transfer portal during the offseason, he later confirmed he would return to play for the Bulldogs for the 2026 season.[26][27]
Reese began the summer playing for the Chatham Anglers of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL),[28] before he was selected to the 2025 Team USA Collegiate National Team to represent Team USA in their annual Japan Collegiate All-Star Series in Hokkaido, Japan.[29][30]
In August, Reese was identified by Baseball America as one of the top 10 future MLB draft prospects from the 2025 Team USA Collegiate National Team with early-round draft pick potential,[31] having previously been noted as a potential first-round pick by ESPN.[32] It was announced on September 19 by head coach Brian O'Connor that Reese would miss Mississippi State's fall practice after undergoing toe surgery, but that he was expected to be ready for the start of the new season.[33] In early December, MLB Pipeline ranked Reese 18th of the top 100 MLB draft prospects for 2026.[34]
