The past year has been much different than Aliquippa’s Josh Pratt could have ever expected.
Just over 12 months ago as a freshman, Pratt suited up for Lincoln Park where he played sparingly behind a star-studded WPIAL and state championship squad.
As a sophomore, Pratt made a change of scenery with Aliquippa and took the court by storm as he was an instrumental piece of the Quips’ championship team that won a Class 2A district title at the Pete and state crown in Hershey, where he dropped a game-high 36 points on 14 of 19 shooting against Holy Cross.
“It felt unreal and was honestly my favorite moment from my high school career so far just being able to help the seniors win a state championship after they went the two previous years and came up short meant everything to come back to Aliquippa and help them accomplish the goal,” Pratt said
Since then, Pratt has picked up three Division I offers with many other schools expressing interest since the contact period for 2026 prospects opened.
“I didn’t play my freshman year at all at Lincoln Park, so now look a year later and I have three D-1 offers. It just goes to show how great God is and how he has a plan for everybody no matter where you start, so just keep trusting him and building that relationship with him and everything will fall into place,” Pratt said.
The 6-foot-2 guard has picked up offers from Hofstra, Pepperdine and Northeastern. He’s also hearing from a long list of schools that includes Temple, Liberty, Columbia, Radford, LaSalle, Weber State, FDU and more.
With the recruiting process exploding in the last few months, Pratt is taking it all in one day at a time.
“Really just taking it slow knowing I have a little bit of time before I have to make any decision, so just taking it day by day,” he said.
Fortunately for Pratt, he has a few mentors that have been through this process before.
“My dad and brother went through all of this stuff so they are just teaching and guiding me through it,” Pratt said.
Josh’s older brother L.A. was a standout at Lincoln Park and has gone on the play for Elon over the last two seasons before transferring to Northeastern this summer.
“LA has helped me so much in so many ways such as with my recruiting and just teaching me and helping learn from the things you go through as a basketball player and making sure I don’t make the same mistakes that he felt he made as a player,” Josh said.
Pratt has transitioned his game into the AAU circuit this spring with West Virginia Gold as he continues to work on being an efficient scorer and facilitator.
When the high school season rolls back around, Pratt will look to add to an impressive sophomore campaign that saw him average 17 points per game and continue to thrive in that floor general role.
“I love the role,” Pratt said. “Everybody has really relied on me and trusts that when a bucket is needed, they can depend on me to deliver. I’m looking forward to that role this year and the years to come. I wouldn’t want any other role because I feel like I’m at my best when scoring.”
