Former MSU baseball player dies in hiking accident; family says he lived 'life to the fullest'

Matt Byars began traveling the country at a young age, as a standout baseball player competing in tournaments.

Seeing all those different places, all life had to offer, that's how he fell in love with the outdoors.

"My parents traveled all over with him for club baseball, and he was able to kind of see what other places were like," said his oldest sister, Lindsay Krull. "He always loved fishing. He always loved being outdoors. And when he moved out to Colorado, he was really able to do all those things to the max.

"We always kind of knew he wanted to live his life to the fullest.

"We always kind of knew that he would end up in a place like Colorado."

Byars, who played baseball at Michigan State for two years before passing up professional baseball opportunities to be the "free spirit" his sister said he always was, died earlier this week in a hiking accident. Castle Rock Fire and Rescue said he fell while rock-climbing at Rock Park, outside Denver, before 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Several witnesses saw the accident, according to police. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Byars was 27.

Byars, a native of Lodi, Wisconsin, played at Michigan State in 2016 and 2017, after transferring from Heartland Community College in Normal, Illinois. At Michigan State, Byars, a catcher, was the team's defensive player of the year in 2016, and in 2017, he was named to the watch list for the Johnny Bench Award, given to the nation's top catcher in Division I.

"He played hard for us. He was kind of a no-nonsense type of kid," Michigan State head baseball coach Jake Boss said Friday. "We got him out of a (junior college), so he came in with a little bit of a chip on his shoulder, which is what we needed. … He had a howitzer for an arm."

Getting to Michigan State — and even more, the Big Ten, since Wisconsin doesn't have a baseball program anymore — was a dream for Byars.

"He turned down full-ride scholarships to other universities to play competitive Division I baseball," said Krull, fighting back tears. "It just made him and all of us really proud. … He made everyone proud."

After his junior season, during which he hit .284 with 26 RBIs and also had a 16-game hitting streak, Byars was drafted in the 24th round (723rd overall) by the Minnesota Twins, but he opted not to sign and returned to Michigan State.

As a senior, he hit .271 with a .383 on-base percentage, 14 doubles and 25 RBIs, and threw out 12 would-be base stealers, but he wasn't taken in that year's draft. He had some interest from teams to sign as a free agent, but nothing materialized.

After graduation, he went home to Wisconsin and lived for a while with parents Jeff and Christine, before deciding that Colorado was the place for him. He moved out there with his best friend since fourth grade, Elliot Statz.

"I remember after his senior year, he was just really disappointed in himself that he had made the choice that he made," Krull said. "Of course, he didn't get drafted his senior year, and he always kind of, at that time, wondered what could've been. But at his point in life now, we had talked about that recently, and he was really thankful he made the choice that he made.

"Life on the road, doing Triple-A and the minors and trying to make it to the majors is not easy. He always wanted a family, he always wanted children, and I think he just wanted to root himself where he was happy before he went along with that in his life."

Said Boss: "I respected him for knowing what he wanted."

Byars grew up playing a number of sports, but after hitting his first home run at 9 years old, "it was all baseball," Krull said. He was a two-time team captain in high school, and led Lodi High to the Division II state championship as a senior. He also played football and wrestled growing up, and he loved to play golf. The family lived on a golf course in Wisconsin. In Colorado, he was a real-estate project manager for GOLFTEC.

In a tribute post on Facebook this week, a friend reminisced about how he and Byars would talk about growing old together and living a retirement life of golfing and fishing.

And, of course, Byars loved to hike, rock climb and mountain climb. The Rocky Mountains were his playground, and he often was accompanied by his dog, Archie, a red fox Lab. Krull said Byars and Archie were "best friends."

Last month, he ran Colorado's grueling Leadville Marathon, which takes runners to Mosquito Pass, at 13,185 feet. Waiting at the finish line for Byars, tears streaming down his face, were his mom, sister Sarah Byars, and Archie. According to Krull, Byars said, "Mom, I did it!" His mom said, "Matthew, I never doubted you for a second."

"He found a lot of solace and comfort in the outdoors," Krull said. "He was just a happy-go-lucky, motivated person. I guess I would best describe him as a free spirit."

Byars is survived by his parents and two sisters. There will not be a funeral; he will be laid to rest in the mountains of Colorado, "his favorite place," Krull said. A celebration of life will take place in mid-August in his hometown of Lodi.

tpaul@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @tonypaul1984