A college baseball player has been forced to transition from catcher to pitcher after sustaining a permanent eye injury during a freak accident in a batting cage. Connor Lane, a sophomore at the University of Connecticut, was participating in live batting practice early in the NCAA season when he made awkward contact with the ball.
'I took a swing on a pitch and foul tipped and [it] went into my eye,' Lane told WTNH. 'I have a blind spot in my eye now for the rest of my life.'
Huskies head coach Jim Penders described the incident to the station as something he had 'never seen anything like it.' Lane, a native of Old Saybrook, Connecticut, now requires special safety glasses for playing, though he can still drive without them.
'My center vision in my right eye is gone, but I still have peripheral vision,' Lane explained. 'I'm wearing these specs and glasses to be extra precautious.'
The most significant challenge for Lane, who was considered a top MLB prospect as a catcher, is the position change. Due to partial blindness in his right eye, he no longer sees himself as a backstop but has shifted to pitching.
'The first thing I said actually, to our trainer, Catie [Dann], was at least I can still pitch,' he told WTNH.
As a freshman, Lane had a solid season at the plate, appearing in 31 games for the Huskies. He batted .278 with five home runs, a .315 on-base percentage, and an impressive slugging percentage of .546.
Despite the setback, Lane's MLB aspirations remain alive. He recently pitched in an inter-squad game, hitting the mid-90s on the radar gun. Notably, the 2024 Connecticut Gatorade High School Player of the Year posted a 0.83 ERA with 68 strikeouts in 33.2 innings pitched as a senior at Old Saybrook High School.
This injury marks the second major hurdle in Lane's young career. The 6ft 3in right-hander previously suffered a blood clot in his throwing shoulder in 2025, according to WTNH.
The Huskies currently hold a 22-20 record heading into Friday's game against Georgetown in Washington. It remains unclear when Lane will be available out of the bullpen.
