UConn pitcher Justin Willis recounts escaping Florida condo collapse with his family

Willis and his family narrowly escaped the deadly collapse

UConn pitcher Justin Willis and his family, while on vacation, survived the Surfside building collapse in Florida last week. Justin, 22, his father, Albert Aguero, his mother, Janette Aguero, and his sister, Athena Aguero, all managed to escape the collapse that has left 10 people dead and 152 missing, according to CBS News.

It was around 1 a.m. when Willis heard the building he was in shake. He then saw dust from the building next to him collapsing, which he described looking like "a big cloud," he told the Hartford Courant.

"We gathered all the stuff we could and walked down, tried to see what was happening," Willis told the Courant, explaining that it felt like a jet took off on top of their building.

The family safely walked down the 11 floors of the Champlain Towers condominium complex in Surfside, Fla., unaware that part of the building they were in had collapsed.

Willis described the scene:

"We were so naïve, and we don't know the building well enough to know that more than half the building collapsed. The lights were out, and we were just trying to get out of there as fast as possible."

Willis, a junior who appeared in 16 games for the Huskies in 2021, said that by 1:38 a.m. he and his family had made it out of the building and surveyed the damage from the beach. 

"The crazy part was looking in the hallway to our left," Willis said. "Me and my sister in the living room were probably the closest, we're maybe 15 feet away from where the building ended up just breaking off. It just gives you a new sense. I've always been a positive kid. I like to think I've had some unreal experiences in baseball and what my parents have sacrificed for me, but it definitely gives you a new meaning."

UConn coach Jim Penders applauded his player's sense of calm during such a difficult and stressful time.

"It was incredible how composed he was, how present he was for his family. He wanted to talk. He wasn't shutting down. I said he must be in shock, and he said, 'Yeah.' He sounded like he sounds when I hand him the ball — OK, we have a job to do. Let's go. ... I couldn't imagine myself at that age going through something like that and being as composed as he was," Penders said.