On Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022, Central Bucks East seniors Joey Wilga & Ty Pan were recognized for committing to continue their baseball careers at the collegiate level.
Ty Pan – Grove City College (Baseball)
Major: Engineering
Final list of colleges: Grove City, Swarthmore, Lehigh, NJIT
Reasons for choosing Grove City: “I really looked for a school that had my major of interest before anything. I put that ahead of baseball, and I feel like baseball was another thing to add on and still enjoy while studying something I want to pursue.”
What was the progression that led you to competing in baseball at the collegiate level? “I’ve always wanted to play college baseball. It was just until later in high school that I understood the importance of finding something that I want to study as well. After I found something I wanted to study, it really narrowed down schools for me. Once I found the one that had the right major and the right opportunity to play baseball, I knew it was right.”
Coach Kyle Dennis says: “Ty is one of the most dynamic athletes we’ve had. He is absolutely unstoppable on the basepaths. When he gets on base, it’s just really, really fun to watch him play. He’ll look for weaknesses in an opposing defense and just exploit them. He is so much fun to watch on the bases. He’s a solid fielder. He plays a great second base, plays a good middle infield. Grove City is a great school for him. They play to his style – they play some small ball, they play fast, they’re really, really disciplined playing small ball, and Ty’s going to do very, very well there playing in the middle infield. I really look forward to watching him excel. Ty Pan – we wish you the best of luck, we love you and best wishes at Grove City.”
About Ty:
Favorite food: Chick-fil-A
Favorite movie: The Sandlot
Favorite artist: Frank Ocean
Joey Wilga – University of Richmond (Baseball)
Major: Business
Final list of colleges: Richmond, Columbia
Reasons for choosing Richmond: “I chose Richmond because of the coaching staff primarily. As soon as I started talking to them, I immediately knew these were people I wanted to be around. They have great experience – their head coach won a World Series, and one of their assistant coaches coached in the Olympics. They’re just really great people, and it’s a very beautiful campus.”
What was the progression that led you to competing in baseball at the collegiate level? “I knew I wanted to play in college as soon as I knew that was an opportunity – right around my freshman year. I’ve always had more of a passion for baseball. No other outside forces pushed me to do this. It’s all just a love of the game.”
Coach Kyle Dennis says: “Joey is just an absolutely phenomenal human being, one of my all-time favorite kids that I’ve had the opportunity to coach in my tenure here at CB East. He’s always positive, always upbeat, always has a smile on his face. The baseball field is his home. He loves being there, he loves his teammates, he loves his coaches. He’s just so happy when he’s out there on the field, and he has such high expectations for himself. Joey is extremely dedicated to his craft and becoming the best baseball player he can be. That sometimes means he misses his offseason workouts because he’s working out someplace else. He’s always very concerned about missing them. I always tell him, ‘Joey, there’s guys I worry about, and there’s Joey Wilga. I don’t worry about you getting your work in.’ In the past three years, his body has completely changed. He’s become more athletic, more fit, and he still just absolutely rakes the plate. He had a terrible loss in the offseason with his father, and to see him work through that, I think the game of baseball is extremely important with that. I know he spent a lot of time training and working and helping himself work through that. We’re just blessed to have Joey in our program. I love that kid, and I really look forward to watching him have a great year and then go on to Richmond and just excel there.”
About Joey:
Favorite food: Chipwich
Favorite movie: Super Bad
Favorite TV show: Love is Blind
Favorite music: Country
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