Baseball, Brotherhood and a Bond Never Broken: Meet Ben and Zach Joyce
HOUSTON — By the time Ben Joyce took the mound in Houston’s Minute Maid Park on the afternoon of March 6, 2022, everyone in the college baseball world knew his name.
How could they not? Joyce, standing at the center of a major league ballpark, had taken the college baseball world by storm when he touched triple digits on consecutive pitches in Tennessee’s matchup against Georgia Southern two weeks earlier.
He already was being heralded as the next Aroldis Chapman, or at least the fastest college pitcher on record.
So when the right-handed flamethrower clocked in at 103 that day in Texas, everyone in the park — even some stunned, starstruck players from UCLA — crowded in to watch.
But there were a few key audience members missing.
Reluctantly, Ben’s family had left for the airport by the time he entered to pitch, as the only flight they could get to return home left before the end of the game.
A quick text from a family friend who was still at the game alerted the Joyces, who scrambled to keep up with the action on their phones once Ben jogged out of the bullpen.
The ironic part of this is not that Ben’s family members were trying to keep up with his pitching, but that one of the people searching for game updates that Sunday looked almost exactly like the guy throwing on the mound.
It was Ben’s identical twin brother, Zach.
Same body type, same facial expressions, same initial love of the same sport.
As with all twins, though, there are a few key differences.
Birth timing is one — Ben was ahead by four minutes.
A facial mole is another — Ben has one, Zach doesn’t.
But the most striking contrasts?
Tommy John rehabilitation and the dreams that each twin is now seeking to accomplish.
This is the improbable story of the Joyce brothers: the one you know and the one you don’t.
Small in stature, big in heart
For Matt Buckner, they will always be “those guys.”
Not Ben, not Zach — just “those guys.”
“Everything that I equate to them is those guys together,” said Buckner in a phone interview. “Because they’re identical twins.”
Buckner, the head baseball coach at Farragut High School, has known the Joyce brothers since they were in middle school.
Both brothers were drawn to the Admirals’ program quickly, walking a short distance from school to the field as kids since middle schoolers could use the same facilities as older players.
“They kind of grew up around all these kids in the program,” said the Joyce’s mom, Joni. “It was really awesome because the middle school and the high school are close to each other. But then I’d be waiting like, ‘Are they gonna ever call and say they're done?’”
Ben and Zach Joyce at Farragut High School. (Photo courtesy of Matt Buckner)
That commitment stretched into the high school ranks, too — but there was a problem once the twins reached an advanced level: size difference.
Entering their freshman seasons, the twins exhibited nothing close to the chiseled, towering frames they carry today.
“I was like 5’3,” (Ben) was maybe 5’4,” and we were both around 95 to 100 pounds,” said Zach with a laugh.
The noticeable stature difference was partly due to the twins’ being “late bloomers,” as Joni called them.
But they also started school in Knoxville as the youngest in their class — a factor that ultimately helped them, though not without some growing pains.
“I think it made them really just work harder, and try to be better and do everything they could do,” said Joni. “To get on the team, that was their goal — to get on the high school baseball team.”
Once that goal was achieved, those aforementioned struggles began to take shape.
And ultimately, those pains produced effects that lasted long after that freshman season in west Knoxville.
Growing pains to growing stronger
Throughout the twins’ Knoxville upbringing, they had the same doctor: Matthew Rappe.
A respected orthopedic surgeon, Rappe provided guidance that was essential throughout the twins’ formative years.
“They wouldn’t be where they are without him,” said the Joyces’ dad, Alan, who is known as “A.J.”
When the twins were small, Rappe provided encouraging remarks at each appointment.
“He would sometime say something like, ‘You’re going to grow a lot taller than that guy sitting right there,’” said A.J. “And he would point to me and put a smile on their faces.
“But he said, ‘One day, believe me. You will be at a point… ‘ and he started mentioning major colleges will be interested, like Tennessee, Clemson, etc.”
To reach that goal, though, the twins had to actually carve out playing time in Farragut’s baseball program.
And, starting in the twins’ sophomore year, that predicted growth actually began.
But the more they grew, the less they played.
“Their growth plates were too far apart,” said A.J, “so that they would complain of pain.”
Eventually, the pain became so unbearable that the twins’ doctor had to do the best thing for them, and the worst thing for their recruitment, by shutting them down for weeks at a time.
“I remember poignantly, there was one part where it was very difficult,” said A.J. “When he would drop the news that the best thing for now would be to stop playing and he would then leave the room. But they never gave up.”
Instead, the twins found other ways to improve.
Dieting, exercise — the twins did both, even on Christmas, dating back to when they were in sixth grade.
“They always to try be healthy,” said Joni. “They don't eat a lot of fast food. They’re very disciplined, like even on Christmas, neither one of them wanted dessert. I mean, they're just very disciplined about what they put into their bodies, as well as working out and taking care of themselves.”
Now, both twins continue those habits feverishly, even to the extent that Zach visited a mega gym called Alphaland on that trip to Houston.
So, when those early workout and eating habits conjoined with the twins’ growth spurts — even up to eight inches before their senior year of high school — the baseball effect was immediate.
There was just one problem: because of the pain-induced gaps in playing time, neither twin had been recruited to the level he desired.
So Buckner, now having known the twins for a number of years, hatched any and every plan he could conjure to get them to the next level.
“Some schools have called and, you know, I talked to two here and there,” said Buckner. “I mean, by that time, Ben was probably throwing 86, 87, and Zach was probably a little lower than that.
“But like, I tried to get some like Division I schools to take them. ‘Hey, these are 32 ACT kids, they’re going to grow more, you should take these guys.’”
Buckner wouldn’t divulge the schools’ names, as he said it would be “embarrassing to them” considering what Ben Joyce is throwing now.
Still, no one took a chance.
Finally, Buckner reached out to a friend involved with the baseball program at Walters State Community College.
And the Senators liked what they saw.
So, after a few more conversations and an official announcement, the twins who grew up wanting to make their high school team found out they would get to play college baseball.
Walters State Changes the Game
Once the twins reached Walters State, all bets were off.
Each Joyce brother shined, with Ben humming balls in at 101 miles per hour while Zach ranged closer to 97.
They also continued growing, transforming from the skinny 6-foot-1 kids who entered college at 17 to the impressive frames they now hold: 6-foot-5 (or four and three-quarters for Zach) and approximately 230 pounds each.
“He's always been like a half an inch taller,” Zach said of Ben with a laugh. “That's his big thing. Okay, he's like 6’5” and I'm 6’4 and three-fourths or something like that.”
Size difference or not, the freshmen duo led the Senators to the World Series of junior college baseball in Grand Junction, Colorado.
“An incredible experience,” according to Zach. “We had a great team that year.”
That series allowed Zach to pitch in front of as many as 5,000 people, while the run as a whole served as a new jumping-off point for the twins’ recruitment.
“Walters State was actually wonderful for them in that it was like a fifth year of high school,” said A.J. “Junior colleges aren't for everybody. They were for our kids. Walters State really put the players in a wonderful position to get recognized.”
That recognition generated quite a bit of buzz from several schools, as Rappe’s prophecy was fulfilled when the twins got calls from colleges across the country — including UNC, TCU, Texas Tech and Vanderbilt.
One request stood out from the rest, though: Tennessee.
“I'll never forget the day (the twins) called,” said Joni. “They we’re like, ‘UT wants us to go on a visit!’ and they were so excited. I mean, they just were like over the moon.”
An excitement-fueling visit soon blossomed into a relationship between the twins and Tony Vitello.
Eventually, Tennessee extended an offer to the Farragut alums.
They did not look anywhere else.
“Being from Knoxville, that was kind of just it,” Zach said. “We weren’t really even interested in anything else after that.”
The twins committed on their 19th birthday — September 17th, 2019.
But there was a problem.
Around the same time as their commitment, Zach was warming up for a Walters State game at Smokies Stadium in Kodak, Tenn.
Suddenly, he felt a pop.
No longer the growing pains or tendinitis experienced through high school — though the latter played a part, Zach said.
Instead, it turned out to be every pitcher’s worst nightmare: a torn unilateral cruciate ligament, known more commonly as a Tommy John injury.
Ben would later experience the same issue, albeit at Tennessee instead of community college.
The twins’ pre- and post-surgery differences marked a fork in the road.
For Zach and the Joyce family, dozens of questions began to arise. Where to get the surgery? What about physical therapy? Did he even want to have the surgery in the first place?
Wait, what?
Yes, you read that right.
Zach, who had grown up playing baseball alongside his brother and who was headed to his dream school with his twin, was already debating whether to go through with a Tommy John repair that would be crucial to the remainder of his career.
“Because Tommy John is really only a baseball thing,” said Zach.
“So I was even thinking whether I wanted surgery in the first place. But I mean, I knew I was going to Tennessee and, like, I had committed…”
His voice trailed off.
Ultimately, Zach went through with the surgery and remained committed alongside Ben.
There were complications, though, as doctors removed years of scar tissue from his right arm — yet another difference between Ben, who had a “clean tear,” and Zach, who underwent a far more complex procedure.
Also, with the twins having signed but not yet enrolled at Tennessee, Zach did not have the same access to facilities that Ben did when he endured the same injury roughly a year later.
The surgery and rehab took a toll both mentally and physically.
Then, the effects bolstered Zach’s pre-surgery thoughts.
And he stepped away from baseball for good.
‘It Wasn’t Worth My Mental Health’
“I remember why I knew something was going on with him,” Joni said. “After the Tommy John surgery, he moved back home. All of his friends were still up there (at Walters State), and his brother’s up there.
“It’s his first time kind of away from them, and so I kept asking (Zach), ‘Are you okay?’ I knew something was wrong because he was just kind of closed off.”
Fall bled into winter, then spring erupted into summer.
When it came time for the twins to enroll at Tennessee, Ben started throwing while Zach continued to rehab.
Still, the clouds remained.
“I was trying to tell myself, ‘You know like I'm at Tennessee, like it's like my dream school’ and stuff like that,” Zach said. “But I was just throwing all the time, and never feeling good. Like something is always wrong. Just honestly doesn't really matter where you are at that point. Like, it's never gonna be fun.”
Things had to get better though, right? After all, he was at Tennessee. Every physician, every trainer, everything he needed to bounce back was right there.
None of it was enough.
At that point, playing baseball became a weight of anxiety for Zach instead of a source of fun.
“So that's kind of when I realized it wasn’t worth affecting my mental health that much,” he said.
Slowly but surely, in the fall of 2020, Zach began to release those emotions.
The thoughts of stepping away. The ideas of what could be next. And the stress that came with the thought of disappointing those he loves, as well as the coaches who had offered him a spot on their team.
“The part of it that really hit me was when he said I don't want to disappoint people,” Joni said. “And I said, ‘Zach, it’s your life.‘ And you almost saw the weight of the world just drop off.”
Added A.J.: “Again, Joni and I put not just hours but days over the course of time of discussion with him. And I wanted to make sure that he didn't get to the age of 40 and have regrets. I wanted to make sure that I spoke with him and he understood what he had and what he was giving up.
“But at the end of the day, it's his life and he needs to be happy. And I will say this: once he made the decision and it was done, he became funnier. He spoke more. He was so much more engaging. We read, we play golf a lot together and that gives us a lot of time together.“
Before fully moving on to the next chapter, though, Zach first had to break the news to Tennessee’s staff. After all, he was still committed to the program and working out under their supervision.
According to the Joyces, Tony Vitello and company could not have handled the news any better.
“Coach V was like, really awesome about it,” said Zach, who added that pitching coach Frank Anderson was “really cool about it, too.”
“Just all the coaches were honestly better than I ever could have expected.”
And how did Ben take the news? Well, he didn’t.
“To be honest, it’s not really something that we had like an official conversation or anything,” said Zach via text. “But my friends and family could really tell I just wasn’t happy at all anymore. And he also knew that and had said something.
“Everyone was very supportive and knew I just wanted to be happy.”
“Ben” There, Done That
Around the same time that Zach decided to step away, Ben endured his own UCL injury.
The process of getting hurt was the same as Zach’s, as Ben felt an odd popping sensation while throwing during a scrimmage at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in the fall of 2020.
“I went into the dugout,” Ben said, “and I was kind of like pacing back and forth like, ‘Did that just happen?’“
“Maybe I just imagined it,” he added. “And then I went out to throw my warmup pitches and just kind of knew something was wrong. Woody (Tennessee trainer Jeff Wood) came and took me out, and I ended up getting an MRI the next day.”
Ben underwent surgery shortly after the MRI, then remained under tight supervision throughout his entire rehabilitation process.
Because of his injury, Ben had to redshirt last season before sitting out during Tennessee’s 2021 run to the College World Series.
The latter aspect, among many others, induced a low point during his recovery.
But Zach — now Ben’s roommate — was there to help.
“Obviously we're like super competitive like our whole lives, but I kind of tried to keep him like light hearted about it,” Zach said. “Just like making jokes about it and stuff since you’ve got to be in a cast for two months.”
Zach did more than joke, though.
He also encouraged Ben in his timing, which — along with the advice from Tennessee’s staff — helped Ben Joyce re-emerge as what he is today.
“Since I had been through it, kind of like telling him, ‘You want to come back really fast, like it’s hard not to rush since you can’t work out for two months straight.’ But I kept telling him it's something you want to do,” Zach said.
“Obviously now, he realizes that it was worth taking his time coming back.”
A Viral Volunteer
When Ben took the bump against Georgia Southern this spring, he immediately registered 103 miles an hour on the radar gun.
It was quite a debut for the Farragut alum, whose coach saw that talent emerge over Christmas — long before the eyes of the nation would be glued to Ben’s right arm.
“He threw bullpens when he was down there all Christmas and stuff,” said Buckner. “I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.
“I mean, I've seen like Major League guys throw here a bunch. Kumar Rocker has thrown here. But I've never seen anything like that.”
As Ben’s numbers were announced that Sunday, the Internet exploded.
Rob Friedman, an MLB and ESPN analyst better known as “Pitching Ninja” on Twitter, quickly caught onto Ben’s stuff.
In the weeks that have followed, Friedman has even dubbed the redshirt junior with a nickname: “The Volunteer Fireman.”
“I did see it,” Ben said of the moniker. “I’ve been following the Pitching Ninja for so long, it’s crazy that he gave me a nickname.”
Ben Joyce throwing at Tennessee. (Photo courtesy of the Joyce family via Tennessee Athletics Communications)
But for A.J. and Joni, the moments that Ben takes the field in a Tennessee uniform are about far more than nicknames, numbers or even phone-buzzing viral tweets.
Instead, from the afternoon Ben made his Volunteer debut against the Eagles, the Joyces have gazed through a lens of thankfulness given all their eldest — by four minutes — has endured.
“I knew last spring was so hard for him when they went to the College World Series,” Joni said. “They allowed him to go, but he’s a competitor. It killed him to not be part of that, contributing in some way.
“For me as a mom, seeing him up on that mound on the field at UT and throwing out those pitches, I swear I had to keep myself from just crying. I knew what it took him to get there.”
And the velocity?
“That was just kind of like the icing on the cake, like once I heard the crowd kind of go, ‘Oooooohhhhh’ at one point.”
Summarized A.J. “To add to what Joni said, I think watching him run out onto that field was great. Then after it was over, knowing that no matter what happened going forward, that we would always have that moment.
“But I think the higher numbers and then the ability to maintain it, that was the new feeling for me. I think what was overwhelming for me was the national attention, because it went from our little secret to that.“
Even Major League legend Andrew McCutchen has gotten in on the praise, saying he may have opted for football had he seen the caliber of pitches that Ben is throwing.
Now, the buzz has increased to the point that Vitello compared Ben taking the mound to fans getting to watch baseball’s version of a carnival.
“The bad guy is me,” joked Vitello, “when we take him out of the game.”
Such lofty expectations have created a standard that the Joyces hope Ben can match.
So far, he has.
He blew past South Carolina in the first weekend of SEC play, touching 104 — officially the fastest on record now, by the way — while exuding a confidence that Vitello said is completely different than “six to seven months ago.”
As for Ben’s recovery status?
Vitello said this week that the redshirt junior is “ready to rock and roll as much as we want to let him” — a welcomed update to be sure, albeit one reached only through short-inning stints and belief-building outings.
“I love that they were cautious about his buildup,” said Joni. “It’s amazing to see how Ben has flourished under that.“
From What Could Have Been to What Is
Zach, as mentioned, was a different story.
“We kind of had to find our own like doctors, physical therapists, and then he came back home with us,” said Joni. “So he didn't have that constant guide (at first).”
Will there always be lingering questions about what could have been for Zach?
“I mean, I wonder that sometimes, you know, what would have happened with Zach had he had the same amazing staff Ben did,” admitted Joni.
Added Zach: “I think that's kind of what was the hard part about it because there weren’t really many trainers, right? Like Woody, Tennessee and Q, they were really on top of it when Ben had it.
“I had to kind of stay on my own.”
Is there any lingering jealousy on Zach’s part?
“Honestly, a lot of people ask me that and I really am just happy for (Ben),” he said. “It’s honestly the first time in our lives that we've been doing different stuff. And it's a lot easier to support each other. Not like butting heads, getting super competitive doing the same exact thing.”
L to R: Ben Joyce, Joni Joyce, Zach Joyce, Alan Joyce. (Photo courtesy of Zach Joyce/Instagram)
Now, Zach is flourishing in his next steps.
He has remained a supply chain management major — for which Tennessee is ranked No. 3 in the country, by the way — and is interning for a major defense contractor in Knoxville.
He has also started his own real estate firm, Newcastle Investments, which the Joyces will let him pursue more after graduation.
And he may even move out of Knoxville, though the Joyces ultimately just want Zach to “get a job and be adventurous.”
Altogether, both Joyce brothers are thriving academically and athletically at The University of Tennessee.
But then again, that was the plan all along.
Coming Full-Circle
In September of 2000, the twins were born at UT Medical Center — a short drive across the Tennessee River from where Ben’s pitches are now making major league waves.
But, like the twins’ lives, those early moves took a couple different turns along the way.
“When they were about a year old, we actually first moved to upstate New York,” said Joni. “Queensbury, New York — literally the snowiest place — and we spent a year there.
“And then we moved to just outside of DC, North Potomac, Maryland, and they started kindergarten and went to first grade there.”
Soon, though, the D.C. cost of living became too much, even with so many things to do.
“So we had an opportunity,” said A.J. “Since we had already been in Knoxville, we said, ‘Why don't we just go back there? Instead of just picking a place, let's go back to someplace that we at least know, where we know they would have a good life.’”
Ultimately, the main factor in the move ended up being the same university that drew both twins away from any other suitors: Tennessee.
“We knew what the University of Tennessee brought from education and sports,” said A.J. “So both Joni and I saw The University of Tennessee as kind of a wonderful playground, if you will.”
So, as the twins grew, they did not just walk back and forth at Farragut.
They also attended camps at Tennessee, traipsing along the sidewalks on a campus that both twins call home.
Now, the brothers may be taking on different ”sides of the playground” — Zach on the graduating slide of college, Ben on the hectic merry-go-round of SEC baseball.
But through all the heartache, all the pain and all the baseball, their paths have ultimately still been woven closer together.
“At the point where I stopped playing baseball, I was not in a very good headspace, I guess,” said Zach. “So it drove us apart a little bit, honestly.
“But now that I stopped playing. I think we're honestly closer than we were (when playing).”
And now, that brings us back to Houston.
Not to that Sunday when Ben took the mound, but to the day prior — when the Joyces were still in the stadium.
After Tennessee beat Baylor, Zach hustled down to the field.
Not to play, but to give a quick hug and handshake to the brother who could be playing in these ballparks for years to come.
One looking to lead the Vols back to Omaha, the other finding a fresh new approach to life — but both still valuing the relationship that’s been in place since they were born.
“During the season, we don't see each other as much,” summarized Zach. “But like, at Houston, I got the chance to go down, give him like a bro hug.
“You just dream about stuff like that. It’s pretty cool, honestly.”
Cover photo courtesy of the Joyce family