By Will Slater

Justice pitching for Collegiate. Photo credit: Richmond Times-Dispatch.

His baseball journey began not far from Collegiate, at a nearby Tuckahoe Little League. Evan Justice (‘17), now a minor league pitcher (with a 98 mph fastball) in the Colorado Rockies organization, attended Collegiate for thirteen years. Throughout both his athletic and academic career at Collegiate, he tacked on many accolades, including first team All-Conference as a senior and junior in basketball and baseball, and all-state honors as a baseball player during his junior and senior seasons. He capped his high school career off with being named the All-Prep League Player of the Year and All-Metro Player of the Year, along with being named the Virginia Player of the Year. In his senior year, Justice posted a 7-1 record, with a 1.05 earned run average (ERA), while striking out 70 in 60 innings of work, while also posting a .506 batting average with five home runs and 40 runs batted in (RBI).

Justice had a very impressive high school career athletically and carried his success into the classroom and onto the field at North Carolina State, where he played baseball for four seasons and earned All-ACC Academic Team during the 2021 school year. Justice credits some of his success in the classroom to help from his tutors and mentors at NC State, who helped him stay on top of his work. Justice also credited a significant amount of his academic success to what he learned at Collegiate, saying, “Collegiate does a great job of preparing you for for college, in terms of organization and advanced study tactics.” A takeaway for Justice was that because of the excellent education he received at Collegiate, he felt more prepared to take on his college courses and succeed, even while devoting so much time to playing high-level college baseball.

Justice celebrating with his catcher after a big win. Photo credit: North Carolina Athletics.

Justice says that his coaches at Collegiate were an impactful part of his success. His basketball coaches included former Upper School counselor and coach Alex Peavey, current varsity basketball head coach Del Harris, and his father, Upper School history and religion teacher Brian Justice (‘85). Justice (17’) said, “Being surrounded by these coaches taught me how to be a true competitor, and I learned what it takes to be successful and the kind of work ethic that is necessary to complete what you wish to do.” 

In his high school baseball career, Justice mentioned that he learned significant amounts of information about the college recruiting process and about baseball through varsity baseball coach (and my dad) Andrew Slater (‘96). Slater said of Justice: “Evan was a selfless teammate who was always doing what was in the best interest of our program. In his three years with us (2015-2017) he always showed up with a great attitude, work ethic, and approach. Evan is incredibly determined and self-disciplined, which has allowed him to continue to develop and prosper at the next level. His even-keel nature is a blessing and allows him to be resilient and exercise the mental toughness necessary to have consistent success in a sport as difficult as baseball.” 

Something that I was very impressed by was his mature approach to talking about the tragedy of how his last college season at NC State came to a conclusion this past spring. NC State played two games against Vanderbilt in June in the College World Series before being forced to withdraw due to a COVID-19 outbreak. Despite that abrupt ending to their season, Justice pointed out the team’s accomplishments when speaking of the coaches and players at NC State. Justice said, “[NC State baseball head] Coach [Elliott] Avent has had a colossal impact on the man I am today and the player I have become. I have learned so many great life lessons from him throughout my four years.” 

After Justice made the final out of the Super Regional against Arkansas. Photo credit: Richmond Times Dispatch.

Justice pointed out how this past season the Wolfpack started out 1-8 in conference play, having been swept twice and dropping another series. He said his team had not yet gotten past their rough patch to start their season and had yet to find their identity as a team. As the season went on, the Wolfpack turned things around, and with the help of dominant pitching from Justice, the Wolfpack found themselves in the College World Series in June after beating the number one team in the country at the time, Arkansas. In the Super Regional, NC State lost their first game in their series, but with dominant relief pitching, along with help from the NC State’s hitters and defense, they were allowed to clinch a spot in the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, a place where most kids only dream of ever playing. 

NC State was removed from the College World Series after being told they had to be sent home due to a team exposure to the COVID-19 virus. Yet Justice mentioned that they all know in their hearts that they had the confidence to be National Champions. 

Justice pitching at the College World Series. Photo credit: Richmond Times Dispatch.

Justice most recently was drafted as the 140th pick in the 2021 MLB draft to the Colorado Rockies. He is now spending his time training in Arizona and taking part in the Rockies instructional league. He is currently pitching, working out, and working with pitching coordinators in the Rockies organization. His hope is that he’ll eventually play for one of Colorado’s minor league teams, like the Hartford Yard Goats or the Spokane Indians, and hopefully move up from there.