Deceon Lyday

After graduating this spring, Deceon Lyday plans to pursue baseball at University Nevada Las Vegas in hopes of following his dreams.

“My goal is to hopefully achieve the highest level you can get. Playing in the MLB has always been a dream of mine, I’ve always liked playing baseball and the challenge of the game,” Lyday said.

As a center fielder and two-time defensive player of the year, Deceon plays an important leadership role in the outfield.

“When I’m on the field, I try to control what I can control, and in this case the infield wouldn’t be that,” Lyday said. “Since I’m centerfield I try to control my outfielders– make sure they know where to go, that they’re doing the right thing and also make sure my end of the bargain is held up, and if that’s all covered then I’ve done my job.”

His favorite memory from is winning the league championship in baseball last year.

“When we won at La Habra, it was everything we worked for just manifested into that moment. All our long days at practice and hard work throughout the year, it all paid off,” Lyday said.

Deceon looks forward to majoring in architecture in college.

“Ever since I was little I’ve liked to work with my hands, building stuff, if we got some new furniture or something that required a set up I built it: shelves, furniture, sheds, you name it,” Lyday said.

Deceon’s passion for building and creativity stems from his childhood toys.

“I used to play with legos and those magnetic marble kits called Kinects and I used to play with those a lot and built all sorts of stuff,” Lyday said. “My favorite creation was a lego pyramid that I made. I had this big big tub of about 4000 Legos and I treated it as my little workspace. Legos definitely taught and showed me my creativity and how to think outside the box.”

His appreciation for architecture also comes from his childhood.

“When I was little, my grandma always watched the house shows with me like HGTV where they bought and sold houses,” Lyday said. “When they featured the houses and now when I’m going through neighborhoods I take notice of nicely designed houses and think to myself in amazement.”

Deceon looks forward to attending UNLV with balancing school and continuing his pursuit and love for baseball.

“I never been much that of a school guy. It’s kind of a stressful day up until baseball, but baseball is a stress reliever and gives me break in my day,” Lyday said. “Baseball is my escape.”