Eric Reyzelman

Reyzelman's parents immigrated to the United States from the Soviet Union; his father, Alex, moved to the United States from Moldova in 1986, and his mother, Victoria, came from Ukraine in 1989. He and his family are Jewish.^[1] Reyzelman grew up in San Ramon, California, with two brothers, one of whom played college football at Fresno State University.^[2][1] He grew up as a fan of pitcher Tim Lincecum and the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB).^[3]

Reyzelman attended De La Salle High School in Concord, California. He played for the school's baseball team in his freshman and senior years, but was cut from the team in his sophomore and junior years.^[2] His parents suggested that he give up on baseball and focus on academics, but Reyzelman decided to try again.^[3] After his junior year, he began weightlifting, and his fastball velocity increased to 88 to 89 miles per hour (142 to 143 km/h).^[2] As a senior, he had an 8–0 win–loss record and a 0.55 earned run average (ERA).^[4]

Reyzelman enrolled at the University of San Francisco, where he played college baseball for the San Francisco Dons for two seasons. He had a 5–4 win–loss record and a 5.72 ERA, but also averaged 10 strikeouts per nine innings pitched.^[2] He had Tommy John surgery in March 2020, and returned to the Dons in 2021.^[5][3] After the 2021 college season, Reyzelman played collegiate summer baseball for the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL), where he posted a 2.66 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 23+2⁄3 innings, and was named a league all-star.^{[4][3][6][7][8]} He transferred to Louisiana State University (LSU) to play for the LSU Tigers for the 2022 season,^[5] and recorded 66 strikeouts in 42+1⁄3 innings pitched, averaging 13.7 strikeouts per 9 innings pitched.^[2][4] Reyzelman returned to Harwich in the summer of 2022 and was 1–1 with a 1.69 ERA.^[9]