Baseball and Brotherhood
Growing up as the sons of a high school coach, Lane Milligan and his two younger brothers, Tyler and Cody, found themselves playing a number of different sports. The brothers, who range four years in age from the oldest, Lane, to the youngest, Cody, constantly competed. They pushed each other, whether it was football, basketball, or wrestling, which Lane and Cody were both junior high state champion wrestlers. They all three gravitated and chose one sport; baseball.
“You can say baseball is our family’s backbone,” Lane said. “My dad played baseball his whole life growing up and was around it as a coach as we grew up. I mean, when we were born, we basically started playing. Most of our pictures at younger ages are us walking around the yard swinging a bat or hitting balls off of tees.”
As the sons got older, their passion for the game increased. The brothers decided to take family trips to baseball tournaments instead of trips to Disney World. Playing catch in the backyard turned into Tyler throwing bullpen sessions to Lane. The brothers used each other to improve and enhance their talents.
Lane earned a spot on the varsity baseball team at Cherry Creek High School, which competes in Colorado’s largest high school classification, as a freshman in 2010. That season, his team won the district championship but lost in the state tournament. Lane had a bigger issue than losing in the state tournament. His family life was making a change.
Heading into Lane’s sophomore year of high school, his father, Larry, accepted the head baseball coach and assistant principal’s position at Rye High School, which is two hours south of Denver. With Lane already having a year of experience with one of the top high school programs in the state of Colorado in Cherry Creek, Larry made a decision that would split the family.
“When I accepted the position at Rye, Tyler, Cody and myself moved two hours south to Pueblo, Colorado,” Larry said. “My wife stayed in Denver with Lane and our daughter. Lane stayed in school at Cherry Creek and we just commuted back and forth every weekend.”
As a result of his father’s best interests for his career, Lane sacrificed the chance to play on the same team as his brother for the first time in their lives.
Lane translated his father’s interests into a work ethic that earned him the starting catcher position for Cherry Creek in 2011. During his four years as a varsity player, Lane hit over .400 with 74 RBIs. He was a three-time All-Centennial League selection, All-Colorado and All-State in 2013. Lane also led Cherry Creek to a state championship in 2012. His impressive prep resume put him at the No. 6 player in Colorado by Perfect Game USA. He chose New Mexico over Washington State and North Carolina State.
Following his graduation from Cherry Creek in 2013, Lane was not the only Milligan that would soon be leaving Colorado. Tyler, Cody and Larry were relocating as well. Larry accepted the principal’s job at Wagoner High School, about 45 minutes southeast of Tulsa.
Tyler, a three-year letter winner as a pitcher at Rye would play his senior season at Wagoner and be joined by his younger brother, Cody, who would be a freshman.
“Out of all of the years we had our sons play baseball, the only year we had them play together was Tyler’s senior year at Wagoner,” Larry said.
In his senior year at Wagoner, Tyler had an 8-2 record with a 2.33 ERA. He struck out 68 batters in 50 innings. These numbers drew attention from Oklahoma Wesleyan University, which offered Tyler a scholarship and spot on their baseball team.
After one year at Wagoner, Larry became the principal at Binger-Oney High School. He started during the 2014-15 school year and still holds that position currently. Binger-Oney, about an hour outside of Oklahoma City, became home to the remainder of Cody’s high school baseball career.
Cody led Binger-Oney to back-to-back state championships during his junior and senior years in 2016 and 2017. As a senior, Cody hit .571 with 49 RBIs and 10 home runs. He was named to the All-Oklahoma team and a MaxPreps Small Schools All-American in 2017. His versatility on the field gained looks from college scouts, but he ended up signing with Oklahoma State.
All three brothers signed scholarships to play college baseball. Cody attributed the brother’s success as players to their father.
“He taught us to be mentally strong,” Cody said. “He taught us how to deal with the struggles of the game and to not pout when things do not go right.”
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Lane’s career was looking promising after his first two seasons at New Mexico. He started in 20 games for the Lobos and hit .333 in 87 at-bats during his freshman campaign. The next year, Lane started in 37 games and hit .297 and finished second on the team with 46 RBIs. In 2016, his junior season had the potential to be his best yet until he got a phone call from his academic adviser and compliance late that December.
“There was a miscommunication between myself and my adviser,” Lane said. “They didn’t get back to me and I didn’t get back to them. I was one class short of the NCAA requirement for my eligibility for the next year. I didn’t want to sit out, but I took a redshirt that spring and left New Mexico.”
In the summer of 2016, Lane explored his options for a new school. He wanted to get back closer to his family in Binger, Oklahoma. His phone rang. It was Ken Jacome, the pitching coach from New Mexico. Jacome, an alumnus of Oklahoma City University, had made a phone call and got Lane a visit with OCU.
Lane visited with the coaching staff and toured the campus. He knew this is where he wanted to end up. After talking with his father, Lane committed to OCU.
Once it was official, Larry mentioned to Tyler that he had a new opponent in his conference at OCU. After competing with him all of his life, Tyler wanted to try something new.
“I don’t want to play against Lane,” Tyler told his dad. “I want to play with him.”
There was one catch with Lane signing with OCU.
“A big part of my decision was that they were able to make a roster spot and get some money for Tyler to come here,” Lane said. “My whole life, I never got to play with my little brother.”
In his second year at OCU, Tyler was named second team all-conference. The redshirt junior has thrown 22 strikeouts in 21 innings. In 15 appearances in 2018, he has six saves.
Lane’s final year of collegiate eligibility is this season. In two years at OCU, he has become quite the offensive threat. As a junior in 2017, he had .405 batting average with 53 hits. This season, Lane is expected to finish with a batting average over .460 and is only one triple away from breaking the NAIA triples record set in 1978.
With his impressive offensive performance at OCU, some professional opportunities could be in the near future for Lane. But right now, he’s just wants to enjoy the opportunity he has with Tyler, being teammates for the first time ever the past two seasons.
“Deciding to come play with my little brother has been awesome,” Lane said.
“It’s a decision I’ll never regret.”
Hub Roberts 