Lane Forsythe is swinging for his dreams

JACKSON, Tenn. — TCA shortstop Lane Forsythe means business between the white lines, but outside of baseball he is just your average high school sophomore.

“He loves to joke around, he’s one of those guys you’ll see in the locker room, he’ll be messing with everybody and I think it really brings a lot to this team and kind of relaxes us a little bit,” senior Cade Craft said.

Forsythe stands about 5-feet-9, 150 pounds, not big at all. But who is counting when he is standing in the batters box or his shortstop position.

“I’ve always been told to just play the game the right way and play with 100 percent effort and your talent will do the rest,” Forsythe said.

That talent caught the attention of Mississippi State University, where he has earned a scholarship.

Forsythe’s teammate, Cade Craft, said Division I players like Forsythe do not come around very often, but when they do, it raises everyone’s level of play.

“When he comes up to the field, other kids want to come with him. Whenever he wants to get in the cage, sometimes he needs somebody else to throw to him so it just allows other people to develop along with him,” head coach Jeremy Maddox said.

But being a top prospect is not always glorious. It comes with a lot of scrutiny and a lot of heckling from opposing players.

“I think my best trait is like trying not to get frustrated and I just keep a cool temper no matter what,” Forsythe said.

“I think he as an athlete is coming to a point where he actually kind of enjoys that at times because it just drives him to even better, Maddox said.

While only a sophomore, Forsythe said he plans to play a very long time.

“I want to play for a while, probably 40’s maybe,” Forsythe said.

But in the meantime, Maddox will be just fine with two more years.

“Knowing that I’ve got two more years to be able to witness that, is something that I’m really looking forward to,” Maddox said.