Baylor Lawyers Hays and Czimskey: Turning Teamwork into a Texas Title

Last spring, Midway High School and the Little League teams wrapped up their season with an impressive run, earning four state championships and 6A state titles in both softball and baseball. This achievement is part of the “Year of the Panther,” referring to the Midway mascot, which included the volunteer efforts of two Baylor Lawyers.

Sam Hays, JD ’10, and Matt Czimskey, JD ’12, coached the Midway 12-year-old boys baseball team to a Little League Texas state championship title—a remarkable season led by two men for whom baseball and community service have long gone hand in hand. Both former professional players and now attorneys at Beard Kultgen Brophy Bostwick & Dickson, PLLC, Hays and Czimskey have coached their sons for years and credit Baylor Law for instilling a deep sense of service that shapes their work on and off the field.

“I believe my time at Baylor Law, and specifically the professors, helped ingrain that as a lawyer you have the privilege and a duty to give back to the community in ways that others cannot,” Czimskey said.

The state championship win came after two consecutive seasons of losses when the boys were 10 and 11, making this victory even more meaningful for the players and coaches. It was also a historic first in the program’s 55-year history for a 12-year-old boys’ team.

For Hays, the victory was personal: “As a dad with a son on the team, my favorite memory was watching my son play with heart and maturity and watching the fun he had with his teammates.  And overall, seeing the team come together as a unit was very special,” he said. 

The season was especially meaningful because of the long-standing friendship between the coaches and the players’ commitment to hard work.

“What a blessing to do life with good people. I am forever grateful to Sam for pouring into our boys’ lives on and off the field,” Czimskey said.