Reggie York was born and raised in Fort Worth by a headstrong mom and father with great ambition. Their support and conservative rearing empowered him to take his baseball talents to Seminole State College in Oklahoma after high school. York competed for the starting left field position as a freshman, and was later named the starter for the 2008 spring season. An intense slide into second base left his righthand broken before the season began. Though he was forced to sit out for the first two months, he homered in his first at-bat after returning to the starting lineup.
York subsequently helped lead his team to the NJCAA World Series in 2010.