Jack LeGrand has commanded pitches from two different angles over the last two seasons.
LeGrand thought he was destined to be a pitcher ever since he can remember, from his little league days and right up to high school.
Now that he's fully explored a different angle of the 60-feet, 6-inches, going from the mound to behind the plate, LeGrand is finding success at both.
The Twin Rivers senior started catching and pitching on a regular basis for the Royals as a junior and recently signed to play at Lindenwood University in Belleville, Illinois.
"I'm actually starting to like catching more and I've only been doing it for a little over a year now," LeGrand said. "Before that I just loved pitching and I'd never caught before. I think any new position for anybody is scary but I've grown and gotten better since then and now it's taking me to college."
Twin Rivers coach Jared Stockton has been with LeGrand since his freshman year, first as an assistant coach for two years. When he took over the head coaching duties during the 2015-16 season, Stockton orchestrated the switch.
"We had a good catcher and he was graduating, so towards the end of the season we just put Jack back there to see how it would go and he popped up and threw out our best runner with not much technique," Stockton said. "After that he had the spot."
LeGrand admits there were struggles at first.
"I'd say that whole first season I was sloppy in a lot of ways and I'm still trying to get that technique down," LeGrand said. "Every single practice coach kept putting that trust in me and it feels more natural now."
Lindenwood head coach Logan Johnson has taken notice of LeGrand's growth too. The fifth-year manager showed interest in LeGrand throughout the year, stayed in contact and invited him to a workout and practice at the end of March.
"Their coach kind of solidified it for me," LeGrand said. "He just really made me believe that I have more potential in me that he can help me with. Plus they've got a nice, new field up there so I'm pretty excited to be able to play on that."
Lindenwood is in its fifth season of existence, improving upon their record every year. The Lynx finished 30-25 overall and 15-14 in the American Metro Conference this season.
"It's exciting to know I'm joining a program that is on the rise," LeGrand said. "I liked them and I guess they liked me too."
LeGrand's experience on the mound has given him a leg up on the competition behind the plate.
"Going from pitching to catching I knew how to help correct and help out my teammates on the mound," LeGrand said. "For me and the two points of view I had, I just kind of took them and ran with them on the mound."
Though the Lynx haven't specified exactly where he'll be playing yet, LeGrand said he will likely catch and play first and third.
"They have tons of players that can play everywhere so I knew I needed to have a variety of different places I could play from," LeGrand said.
At the plate, LeGrand has a career .343 batting average and .517 slugging percentage. He also holds a .917 OPS, 74 RBIs and a .951 fielding percentage in four season with the Royals.
This year (fall and spring), LeGrand is currently batting .352 with a .516 slugging percentage, .952 OPS, 34 RBIs and a .959 fielding percentage.
"His strength has just jumped up a ton from his freshman year," Stockton said. "The best part for him is I think he's still got more to go."
LeGrand, who plans to major in biology, is part of a senior class that has helped the Royals improve year after year and is the first Twin Rivers player to further his career at the college level under Stockton.
"I think a lot of our players as well as coach have grown a lot over these last four years," LeGrand said. "There was a lot of heartache and some bad seasons those first couple years but we've been able to take some steps in the right direction."