Throughout his first three years in high school, Bethel Park’s Ryan Petras was set on playing collegiate baseball. By the spring of his sophomore year, he was committed to Northwestern to further his playing career on the diamond.
However, everything changed after a big junior season on the gridiron, which opened up an opportunity to play football at the next level as well.
“My freshman and sophomore year, I thought I was just going to play baseball somewhere,” Petras told Pittsburgh Sports Now. “I didn’t know what schools were going to look at me because I was fully committed to baseball. I did a lot more training for baseball in the summer, so I didn’t do many camps. I didn’t know what football opportunities were going to come about and then my junior year, everything blew up and it went from there.”
Even with the attention on the football front increasing, Petras did not have to sacrifice baseball thanks to an opportunity at Princeton University, ultimately leading to his verbal commitment on Friday to be a dual-sport athlete.
“Princeton came about in February, and they gave me the option to play both,” Petras said. “I really wanted to play baseball somewhere and they allowed me to do football there and it worked out.”
Petras, a 5-foot-9, 180-pound wide receiver mounted a boatload of Division I football offers from the likes of UMass, Army, Navy, Columbia, Cornell, Penn, Davidson, Georgetown, Towson, Fordham, Robert Morris and more.
Like many who select Princeton, academics also played a big role into his decision.
“That was the biggest factor in going to Princeton,” Petras said. “I was going to Northwestern before and that’s a high academic school, too. That was my No. 1 key factor.”
What eventually sealed it for Petras committing to Princeton was the experience he had visiting the school on July 18.
“I took a tour there and I loved it. All the coaches, I met a couple players. I loved the campus and the little college shops they have,” he said.
During his visit, Petras met with wide receivers coach Brian Flinn, who is also the WPIAL recruiter. Flinn is a major reason that the Tigers have pulled in four commitments from the Pittsburgh area.
Upper St. Clair’s Michael Albert and Nate Stohl, along with North Allegheny offensive lineman Jack Yatchenko all committed this summer.
“Jack texted me before I went on my visit there,” Petras said. “He told me that he loved it there. I’m mutual friends with the USC kids and they were super excited when I told them.
“When a lot of people from the same area get together for get together for college, it will be a really fun experience and hopefully we can bring home some Ivy League championships with that.”
Before heading to the Ivy League with the three other WPIAL products, Petras will look to top his impressive junior season on both the football and baseball fields.
Last fall, Petras made 52 catches for 734 yards and 12 touchdowns to lead Bethel Park. He also made his impact on the ground, recording 409 yards and three scores. His strong season led to being named the All-Allegheny 6 Offensive Player of the Year.
On the diamond, Petras shines at shortstop as he hit .452 this spring with a home run, 17 RBIs and 20 stolen bases.
