General management freshman Matt Lestan died Friday from injuries he received during a high-speed car crash in his hometown of Troy.

Alcohol was a factor in the crash, which took place about 3:30 a.m. March 4, Troy police Sgt. Michael Szuminski said. The accident is under investigation.

Lestan was a fall walk-on for the MSU baseball team, which he quit in February to focus on academics and to nurse a sore shoulder, assistant athletics director John Lewandowski said.

Head baseball coach Ted Mahan said the team received word about the accident while playing in Florida during spring break.

When the team arrived back in East Lansing on Sunday, Mahan had limited knowledge of the accident, but said it was a shame it was alcohol-related.

He said Lestan was a “very smart kid, who enjoyed a very successful high school career.”

“We certainly feel bad for his family. He was a good kid and we enjoyed having him on the team.”

Although Lestan’s collegiate baseball career was brief, MSU junior infielder Kevin Crews said the team was upset to hear rumors about its ex-teammate’s accident while in Florida.

“He was kind of a goofy kid, fun to be around,” he said. “I was surprised when he quit the team, because he was doing well for someone just coming out and making the team.”

Freshman outfielder Jim Deliz played against Lestan in high school, but didn’t get to know him until this fall at MSU. He said Lestan will be remembered for his very dry, but always funny, sense of humor.

“People should know that he was a great guy, really fun to be around,” Deliz said. “Everybody liked him. It was a shocker to hear what happened.”

Lestan was driving a sport utility vehicle at “very high speeds” westbound on Greenwich Avenue, west of the Northfield Parkway in Troy, when he lost control of his car, Szuminski said.

He drove over a residential lawn and crashed into a tree and some decorative rocks, before rolling the vehicle. Lestan was not wearing a safety belt and was thrown from the vehicle before it came to a rest against another tree, Szuminski said.

He was taken to the Royal Oak Beaumont Hospital, where he died Friday morning. His family could not be reached for comment Sunday.

Lestan was an All-State baseball player at Troy High School with a 33-4 career pitching record, the Detroit Free Press reported Saturday.

A group of MSU players have made plans to drive to Troy to attend the funeral this morning, Crews said.

Krista Latham can be reached at lathamkr@msu.edu.