Braden River High senior pursues a dream job in sports

Baseball always has been an integral part of Benny Hedgepeth’s life. 

He started playing the sport at 4 years old, and for as long as he can remember, he, his dad, and brothers were always around the diamond. 

“It’s always been baseball,” he said, a week before he graduates with his fellow Braden River High School classmates on May 20.

The site of the graduation? The LECOM Park baseball diamond, of course.

“Baseball has always been on the weekends. … We were playing baseball on weeknights. … We were going to late-night practices,” he said.

But now that his high school career will be over, will baseball continue to be a big part of his life?

Hedgepeth, who followed in the footsteps of his brothers Calvin and Trenton Hedgepath by playing baseball for four years at Braden River High, said he will follow the Seminole Pathways program. That means he will attend Tallahassee Community College for a semester (earning 15 units) before transferring to Florida State University, where he will major in sports law.

He said his dream job would be working in the FSU athletes program or for the Tampa Bay Rays, and even the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Hedgepeth said his desire to major in sports law came from his desire to work in the business side of sports, learning about the trades, signings, contracts and other behind-the-scenes aspects of sports. 

“It’s pretty cool to see my dreams turn into a reality, studying at my dream school, just knowing I’ll be able to put myself in a great situation to kind of fulfill my childhood dreams,” he said. 

Courtesy photo

The inspiration for his dream job of being a general manager for a Tampa Bay sports team stems from two movies: “Moneyball” and “Draft Day.”

The movies focus on the business aspects of professional sports. 

“It showed me there’s so much more to sports than just what you see on the screen,” Hedgepeth said. 

Although baseball is his favorite sport, football has become a meaningful sport in his life. Hedgepeth tried out for the football team his freshman year as a way to be in the gym every day and to be in shape. He didn’t know it was going to lead to him meeting some of his best friends and having memories to last a lifetime. 

He recalled the football home game against Palmetto High School in his final season on the team. 

“We were not supposed to win the game at all,” he said. “They were a better team than us, talent-wise at least, but at Braden River we always find a way to pull through.”

His team was able to tie up the game and take it into overtime before the Pirates won 27-20. The student section was behind him, so he grabbed water bottles and squirted them at the student section to get everyone excited. 

“It was the loudest I’ve ever heard that stadium, and it just gave you chills,” Hedgepeth said. “When we ended up winning the game, everyone was storming the field giving everyone big hugs. It was a cool moment, not only to beat a rival, but it also just brought everyone together on the team.”

Hedgepeth said one benefit from being on the football team was that Head Coach, Curt Bradley always had the team working with students in special education.

He learned to appreciate his high school life and he took it upon himself to share his joy by making his fellow students and the special education students smile. In December, he dug out the Pirates' mascot costume, put it on and walked into a special education classroom. 

“I know their favorite thing in the world is the mascot,” he said. “I went down there, and I just saw everyone’s smile was so big. They were all coming up and giving me big hugs. It was just a really special moment. It definitely made my year, and I hope it made some of their days as well.”

As much as Hedgepeth enjoyed his four years of high school, which included him being named Prom King as well as countless moments of laughing and joking around with his friends in class, he said he’s ready to step out of his comfort zone and head toward a big university. 

Hedgepeth said attending his dream school of Florida State means he’s building on the legacy of his father, Brian Hedgepeth, who also attended the university. 

“It’s a pretty cool family thing for me, that my father knows one of his sons is going to be attending and graduating from the same university he did,” Hedgepeth said. 

He hopes he can intern for Florida State’s athletic department, especially after growing up attending FSU baseball and football games.

“I love the atmosphere that comes with college sports," he said. "I love the bands. I love the student section.

"Florida State is one of the most established sports departments in the whole country. They’re in one of the biggest conferences. Growing up watching those teams on TV, going to all the games, high-fiving players. It would just be a full-circle moment knowing all the hard work I’ve put in to not only getting into my dream school, but then working for the sports department.”