OMAHA (KMTV) — Monday was Bellevue University’s last baseball practice before leaving for the NAIA World Series.
It’s the third time since 2019 they’ve made the big dance, but this year the team is playing with more than a championship on their minds.
Their former teammate Payton Higgins is fighting lung cancer.
“(He’s) a guy that… we never thought anything bad was going to happen to him,” junior outfielder Conner Barnett said. “(He’s) a guy that was just a leader. Always happy, always picked us up.”
“It’s getting him a little bit right now,” head coach Duane Monlux said. “I had a conversation with him the other day. It’s a tough one for him, tough one for his family, tough one for us.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.”
Higgins played in one series last year after his diagnosis, even tallying an RBI in one game.
He also joined the team in Idaho for the World Series, but this year he can’t.
Higgins is in Utah, and sent a message to his team via text to 3 News Now:
“Just let them know that I’m cheering them on and that I’ll be watching every inning supporting! Once a Bruin, always a Bruin!”
Monlux said the team is always thinking about Higgins.
“He’s such a tough guy, tough kid,” he said. “When I was talking to him about the situation he’s in now, he’s asking about the world series. Where he’s in the fight for his life and he’s still worried about if we’re going to be playing baseball at a high level. (He’s) such a unique kid, such a strong young man. I’m so proud of him.”
With their talent and support from afar, the Bruins are confident they can make a run and bring home a national title for Payton.
“For us now, we realize baseball is a small part of life,” Barnett said, “and there’s a bigger grand scheme of things, and so we’re playing for him.”
