Lufkin Panther coach, teammates remember good days with player killed in crash

“He represented what we all wanted to be as a team together.”
Lufkin Panther coach, teammates remember good days with player killed in crash
Published: May. 22, 2023 at 7:32 PM CDT|Updated: May. 22, 2023 at 7:53 PM CDT

LUFKIN, Texas (KTRE) - Lufkin ISD senior and baseball player Lance Modisette was one week away from graduation when he was killed in a car wreck on Friday in Nacogdoches County.

A jokester, a competitive team player, and a friend who always had your back are things the Lufkin Panthers baseball team members said about their former teammate.

“There’s a void in our life now; we’re lost without him. Somebody took a piece of our brotherhood we had in Lufkin baseball. It will never be the same,” said head baseball coach John Cobb.

Cobb said seeing the community come together as one had been an overwhelming feeling.

“This is what makes our community great. People come together for these things. I’ve had hundreds across the state of Texas, and even some from Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana reach out and just say ‘hey, we’re thinking about you guys, and praying for you,” said Cobb.

Modisette was one of the 13 senior baseball players, playing all four high school years. He had plans to attend Tarleton University after graduation.

Cobb said he and the team were in disbelief when they heard about the wreck over the weekend.

“It’s just something you don’t imagine happening to you until it happens. It’s something I can’t really wrap my mind around,” said senior teammate Kolby Kovar.

Kovar and Modisette played alongside each other in 2017 when they won the Little League World Series Championship game.

“It was awesome. I’m glad I got to share that with him,” said Kovar.

Kovar said Modisette’s warm spirit was evident on the field and in how he was viewed as a friend.

“He knew how to uplift, and he knew how to be a great friend and a great son.”

Another one of Modisette’s teammates is Will Stafford. Stafford said, aside from baseball, they were also in the same classes this year.

“I got to spend a whole hour an a half with hm every day, and it was just awesome.”

Josh Myles, a senior baseball player, said for the first few years of high school, they competed against each other.

“Being from Hudson, we always used to know Lance was the person that was going to be out there. So, playing him all these past years has been crazy, and then just being around him these past couple of months, it’s been a good thing,” said Myles.

Senior teammate Aaron McMillian said Modisette was like a brother to him.

The team joked around as they scattered to the field for warm-ups Monday afternoon when McMillian said, “He would probably be right there with them, laughing.”

McMillian said he will never forget the moments shared on and off the field.

“He represented what we all wanted to be as a team together.”

Funeral services for Lance are scheduled for 10 a.m. on May 29 at Denman Avenue Baptist Church.

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