Another WPIAL Player Pledges Commitment to Ivy League School

Going from the WPIAL to the Ivy League has recently become a common avenue for local football players as another recruit pledged their commitment to one of the prestigious institutes.

Central Catholic offensive lineman Matt Bowers announced his commitment to Princeton University on Thursday.

Proud and blessed to say I am committed to the admission process at Princeton University! Go Tigers 🐅 @CoachCuevas78 @CoachBobSurace @PrincetonFTBL @PCC_FOOTBALL @CoachLehmeier @timothysasson @PghSportsNow @wpialsportsnews @DAWGHZERECRUITS @210ths @adamgorney @RivalsFriedman… pic.twitter.com/ACOLuJDlgB

— Matt Bowers (@MattBowers52) June 26, 2025

Bowers selects Princeton over other offers from Buffalo, New Hampshire, Cornell, Towson, Maine, Colgate, Stony Brook, Albany and Rhode Island.

He becomes the second WPIAL player to commit to Princeton in the 2026 class joining Mt. Lebanon linebacker Grayson Beck, who committed in April.

Additional 2026 WPIAL players headed to the Ivy League include Aliquippa quarterback Marques Council Jr. (Yale), Trinity linebacker Jonah Williamson (Harvard), Hempfield defensive end Brock Heisler (Harvard), Mt. Lebanon defensive end Joseph Malone (Cornell) and Mt. Lebanon linebacker Patrick Smith Jr. (Penn).

In the 2025 class, Upper St. Clair defensive lineman Michael Albert and offensive lineman Nate Stohl, along with North Allegheny offensive lineman Jack Yatchenko all committed to Princeton.

For Bowers, he was a key part of Central Catholic’s 2024 WPIAL Class 6A championship team that went 10-2 and 5-0 in section play. The Vikings fell short in the state championship game to St. Joseph’s Prep. The offensive line helped pave way for 1,000-yard rusher Elijah Faulkner and a run game that averaged 194.7 yards per game.

Check out the Hudl highlights of Matt Bowers here.

The 6-foot-4, 290-pound Bowers, who holds a 4.1 GPA, originally added an offer from Princeton and offensive line coach Brandon Cuevas on May 16.

For more on all the WPIAL offers and commitments, check out PSN’s Western Pennsylvania recruiting board here.