All roads lead to Oswego
The Land of Oz. A place where if you follow the yellow brick road, you will find you way here.
It may not have been flying monkeys, an evil witch or even lions, tigers or bears. But it sure was a lot of Oh My’s on how some of Oswego State’s baseball players found their way to the SUNY school on the shores of Lake Ontario.
Of the 36 players on the Laker roster, eight played college baseball at at least one school before arriving in the Port City.
For juniors Kevin Hylas and Josh Hoagland, as well senior Kyle Simmons, they all had their own path with many twists and turns. But in the end they found their emerald city.
Hylas, an outfielder from Stony Point, had dreams of going far away to play baseball. But a shoulder injury his senior year of high school derailed them. He lost the offers he had but it opened up an opportunity to play at Rockland Community College.
“I saved myself a bunch of money. I saved my parents a bunch of money,” Hylas said. “It was good choice cause I got an education while I was still playing ball.”
Oswego was one of the places he was looking originally, but after the shoulder injury Hylas says Laker Coach Scott Landers stop paying attention to him. But while playing in a summer men’s league where one of his teammates was Landers roommate in college at Cortland. They started to communicate again.
“He said ‘listen I trust with anything he says and he said you’re good enough to play here,’” Hylas recalling the conversation with Landers.
It was right there and then Hylas was offered to come play for the Lakers. Though according to Hylas it was mostly made on belief.
“He said ‘I haven’t seen you play but I know you’re good,’” Hylas said.
Though Hylas had a couple offers from others, it didn’t matter, because Oswego was where he wanted to be.
“Things happen for a reason,” Hylas said.
Hoagland’s story also is circled around a major injury. But from an entirely different sport, while in the pursuit of playing at the college level for another entirely different sport.
A multi-sport athlete, Hoagland was a Class D All-State running back at his high school in Whitehall, a town in the Glens Falls area. He had hopes of playing at the highest level but a knee injury while playing basketball took away many chances. He ended up at Norwich University, a military school in Vermont to play football at the Division III level.
In his freshmen year, he blew out his knee again. He decided to head home that semester and start school at the SUNY Adirondack. He didn’t plan to play any sports until a friend asked him to come play with him.
“He said ‘hey come play baseball,’” Hoagland said. “Tried out for the team, made the team. Had a couple good years.”
Those couple “good” years he hit .427 and .375 respectively. He was the team MVP both years, named to his conference’s first team and all-region at the NJCAA level.
Hoagland set himself up for a chance to continue his baseball career. Though he wasn’t too sure about pursuing it.
“I got my degree in criminal justice and was gonna call it a day,” Hoagland said.
His plan was to work with the local state prison. But then Landers called up his coach looking for a first basemen that could step right in since their starter from last season was graduating.
It led to Hoagland and Landers speaking on the phone. Landers wasn’t able to watch Hoagland in person but he received videos from the athlete of him hitting off the tee and taking batting practice.
“Which he absolutely ripped apart. Almost didn’t want me here after seeing that,” Hoagland said before chuckling about the situation.
The biggest factor for Hoagland was travel. He looked at Plattsburgh, much more closer to home than Oswego, but ultimately made the call to Landers to announce his decision.
“I remember saying ‘I’d like to be a Laker,” Hoagland said.
Looking back now if he went to be a Cardinal, he would of played for a team that finished 13–23 and missed out on the conference tournament. Instead he’s playing for a NCAA tournament-bound team that is 28–8, in the top ten in national polls, and SUNYAC Champion.
“A lot People ask me why did I chose four hours away to go to school,” Hoagland said. “Cause I want to win” is his usual response.
Kyle Simmons recalls his path with a sigh.
“It was long,” Simmons said.
Simmons was recruited to Oswego State while playing high school in Watertown. But his small size at six-foot and a 160 pounds made him think it be a better to get bigger while he played at Jefferson Community College. From there he got the offer to play at Coker College, a JUCO school in South Carolina.
“I kinda just ran with it,” Simmons said. Although one semester was enough for him to realize it wasn’t to his liking.
This left Simmons with the opportunity to go the school that always wanted him. Landers was constantly calling while Simmons was in high school and at Coker to the point it was almost once a week. But after rejecting Landers original pursuit he wondered if he could still go.
“I didn’t after going to junior college if he still wanted me,” Simmons said.
To Simmons’s delight, Landers told him he still had a spot for him.
It is Landers ability to bring in players from so many different places has progressed the Laker program immensely. In his second year they set the record for program wins in a single season. Since then Oswego has made the national tournament each year including this season, Lander’s fifth, where they won the conference title for the first time in over two decades.
“He gets on the guys he wants,” Simmons said.
The winning mentality Landers brings show in his players. Hylas says he has had that his entire career and now he is playing with players just like him.
“Every team I’ve always been on I’ve had that mentality, and it’s so good to be surrounded by like minded people,” Hylas said.
As they prepare for national tourney run. All 36 have their own story. Their own path. Their own yellow brick road. Except they are not looking to go home. Because they have found it with the Lakers.
“I couldn’t be happier that I am here,” Hoagland said.
