By Thomas Sellers Jr.
Sometimes to reach a new place in life, you have to go back to where it all started.
In short notice, the Laszacs family had to uproot things and move from Houston back to Tennessee. Monica’s and Andy’s son Joshua was at a crossroad. The game of baseball was one of his first loves and it was all in jeopardy having to move from the Lone Star State to the Volunteer State.
“For Joshua as soon as he could throw, he was throwing,” Monica recalled. “I think we started him out at baseball at 4 and he hasn’t stopped since then.
“Last summer he had a setback with a broken leg,” she continued. “He thought this is it because I can’t showcase and I won’t get recruited. He went and took care of himself. He got back in the fall season. Unexpectedly we had to move him here during his last semester of school.”
His senior year was interrupted and his security on a baseball team was taken away. Despite the move, the Laszacs had full confidence Joshua would land a roster spot at their alma mater.
“He was able to get on the team and everybody welcomed him,” Monica said. “Andy and I went to school here, so we know the culture. For our child to actually come back here and experience it, they welcomed him in with open arms. It was simply amazing.”
The Trojans and Head Coach Colter Millican found spots for Joshua in the lineup and in the field. Laszacs kept improving and earning honors like District 15-3A Tournament MVP. His pitching, play in the field and bat landed Laszacs a scholarship to Jackson State up the road in Jackson.
“My baby boy, I’m glad to see him all grown up into a young man,” Andy said. “To see him move and to play baseball on top of that, being a baseball fan myself, today is a big day.
“Where we were coming from, it was all about your stats,” he noted. “‘You did this. You did that.’ It was all about being an individual. Here it was about team stats. It brought back the team environment. It was so much fun to watch him baseball.”
Dad will have a chance to see his son play on the collegiate level at Jackson State with the Green Jays. Michael Winders is the head coach of Jackson State as part of the NJCAA.
Millican said he is proud of Joshua for working hard to keep his dream alive, and he feels it’s fitting Joshua is his first player to sign a college scholarship.
“It feels like we both got into this together,” Millican said. “I don’t know if he knew he was going to be playing college baseball by the end of the year. I told the kid when he got here, ‘You are good enough to do it.’
“When he told me he signed with Jackson, I was like I got my first guy,” he added. “I am more excited for him because he realizes he can play college baseball. He’s on scholarship, so it’s a big moment.”
Millican was an ace pitcher for Brighton High School and saw that potential in Laszacs. As he gave the senior the baseball, Joshua got stronger, more accurate and confident. As he got to know Joshua, Millican felt his Texas Treasure would be a solid addition to any college program.
“As a human being he has that in him,” Millican said. “He’s a good person. He’s that dude. I don’t know if he’s realized it all yet.
“As a person Jackson State is getting a hard working, hard-nosed individual,” he added. “He’s not going to be outworked. He’s a smart kid. I can’t say enough about his work ethic. He’a a rare one in that sense. As a ball player they’re getting good from the mound with untapped potential. He’s gotten better each time he throws. He’s only going to get better.”
Laszacs got better throughout the 2022 season working alongside his 11 fellow seniors. As Millington rolled up the wins in league play and championships, they believed in themselves and new ace pitcher.
“It was a big moment for him to be MVP of the district,” Andy said. “I was proud of him. We went and got the newspaper he was in and his Grandpa stole it. We have to get another paper.”
Joshua making headlines was also in jeopardy last summer after his broken leg.
“I worked through it,” Joshua recalled. “I was out there still throwing baseball and trying to swing my bat. Hitting the weight room. I’ve been playing my whole life. I love the game so much and I don’t want it to get taken away from me. My dad introduced the game to me, just throwing me into all those sports.”
Joshua was thrown into a new situation moving to Millington. By the end of the baseball season, Joshua was the player being handed the baseball to start the Sub-State game.
“It’s pretty important that somebody has that trust in you,” Joshua’s sister Jacquelyn noted. “I’m really proud that his team believed he had that push to get them to State.”
“Having those 12 seniors, they all became this instant family,” Monica added. “They had Joshua’s back from the get-go. Coach Millican and them created such a different environment. I was truly excited for the boys to see how well they did this season.”
Before taking the mound in the historic USA Stadium that May night, Joshua thanked his mom and expressed his belief in his Trojans.
“Joshua said, ‘Mom we’re going to do it,’” she recalled. “‘They don’t expect us to because Munford is a pretty good team.’ The fact they were tick for tat, you can’t be any more proud of them. To come as far as they did and be right there at the cusp was just amazing for us.”
Joshua said that bittersweet moment is one of his lasting baseball memories.
“I just wanted to grind and go to State,” he said. “I was going to do all I can do and put my all into the game. I knew this was my last season and I had to make the most of it.
“It felt great that Coach had that confidence in me,” Joshua continued. “I hit new tops and threw the hardest I’ve ever thrown. It was the best game I ever had. I just put my best into it. We had to prove everybody wrong. Everybody we talked to thought we were going to get our butts handed to us. It was going to be done in five innings, get run-ruled. I wasn’t going to let that happen. I wasn’t going to let the other team get into our heads. I had to pump everybody up before the game. We had to put our all into that one game. We all wanted to go to State and do something that hadn’t been done before. It was a tough loss.”
Millican said the defeat won’t be Joshua’s or the Class of 2022 lasting legacy. Those 12 seniors turned the program around and proved Millington Baseball can be winners. Joshua’s signing was more validation and proved to a father his son can face any challenge thrown to him.
“From when he was 4 years old to watching him start that game his senior year then to watch him become the young man he’s become, it’s nothing but pride,” Andy concluded. “I’m proud of the young man he’s become.”
