MORGANTOWN — It’s tough being a college athlete.
When competing at the collegiate level, your chosen sport can become more of a job. The days of a two-hour commitment after school are over; your day-to-day schedule is suddenly filled with team meetings, film sessions, weight room workouts and grueling practices.
Tack on the academic rigor of carrying a full credit load in the classroom and you may rarely have time for anything else.
Now, imagine it all on top of driving 30 minutes, twice a day, to campus and back.
This life will soon be reality for Trinity Christian senior Seth McCroskey. McCroskey committed to Waynesburg (Pa.) University, where he will join a poised and talented freshmen class on the baseball diamond.
McCroskey said the ability to make the daily commute was a large factor when it came time to make a choice on where he would attend college.
“A huge play in my decision was commuting. I wanted to sty close to home, and it was cheaper,” he said. “I was debating between Garrett (Md.) Community College and Waynesburg.”
After narrowing the options to those two institutions, McCroskey evaluated each and realized Waynesburg was a better fit for him personally.
“I chose Waynesburg because, with the campus size and student-to-teacher ration, I knew I wouldn’t just be a statistic,” he said. “I couldn’t be happier with my decision.”
According to Trinity coach Darrell Barnett, McCroskey’s personal character, love for the sport and work ethic solidify him as a valuable resource for any program.
“Seth is a young man with great integrity. He will play anywhere and do whatever is asked of him to help his team,” Barnett said. “He is a fundamentally sound player; his glove and his passion will be a great asset at Waynesburg.”
McCroskey said he looks forward to the higher level of competition that he’ll see in college, and knows he has things to improve before he makes the jump.
“I need to get my velocity higher if I want to be as effective as I’d like to be at the college level,” he said. “I also want to put on at least another 10 pounds this summer before next season as well.”
With those goals in mind, McCroskey appears laser-focused on attacking his training with vigor heading into the off-season.
“To make all of those things reality, it’s going to take a lot of lifting, eating and hard work,” he said.
McCroskey will join his Warriors teammate Tucker Livengood at Waynesburg. Livengood signed his letter of intent with the school just last week.
McCroskey has nothing but praise for his teammate’s abilities, and looks forward to continuing their careers side-by-side.
“I’m extremely excited to continue as teammates with Tucker,” he said. “He is a good guy, a good teammate and a very skilled athlete.”
Waynesburg competes at the NCCA Division III level as a member of the President’s Athletic Conference. Led by 14th year coach and former NFL linebacker Mike Humiston, the team finished 10-22.
