On Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020, North Penn seniors Mike Lennon, Colby Seelig and Evin Sullivan were recognized for committing to play baseball at the collegiate level. (Photos provided courtesy of North Penn High School/NPVTV)
Mike Lennon – West Chester University (Baseball)
Major: Undecided
Final list of colleges: West Chester, East Stroudsburg, Millersville
Reasons for choosing West Chester: “I thought they were the best PSAC school to go to, the best baseball program to go to, and I want competition at the next level, so I think the PSAC would be the best for me. (But) the biggest thing that made me choose West Chester was their 
academics. They have really good academics and also their athletics and everything there. It just felt like a great fit for me because when I went there, I fell in love with the campus.”
Most important thing learned at North Penn: “I’ve gained a lot of discipline at North Penn baseball with the morning workouts because over the years we’ve had the morning lifting, and it’s hard to get to every single morning lifting. Last year, I had the accomplishment of doing that, and that’s the biggest thing for me – learning discipline and how to represent your team on and off the field.”
Favorite baseball memory: “My favorite memory would probably be the Florida trip. It was probably one of the craziest 24 hours of my life. We were on the plane at eight o’clock in the morning, and when we get there, we’re getting all these emails from school saying we’re shutting down. I think our team was definitely really upset about it, but we did enjoy the 24 hours we had there.”
Coach Kevin Manero says: “Michael Lennon is the tall, lanky lefthander out of Towamencin Township. I remember Mike from when he was very young. Recently, we had a Google meeting for players and parents coming into the program. I had some slides, and one of the pictures I came across was baseball camp about six years ago. There was this kid in the front row of a classroom instruction (session) we were doing, and he was sitting up really straight, his hands were folded on the desk, he was totally astute, and it was Mike Lennon. That was the beginning of his seeds of academic excellence that culminated in a text I received earlier this fall that he got honor roll status in the first marking period – he absolutely killed it in the first marking period, which he knows he needs to do. That alone right there is all part of the drive Michael has to play at the next level. He’s got a great family, a great support system. His father has been heavily involved with Mike’s baseball from the time he was very young, and he’s very connected with our program as well. Mike is very gifted. His projection at the next level continues to go up. He had a lot of options for college baseball. He was going to have a very big year for us on the mound last year as a left-handed pitcher, and he’s going to have an equally big, if not better, year for us coming up this spring. We’re absolutely looking forward to Mike at West Chester. He follows the footsteps of Jared Melone, who left our program and went to West Chester. West Chester has won two Division 2 national titles, one in 2012 and another in 2017. When we think of West Chester as a PSAC school, it’s also a baseball powerhouse in one of the most difficult conferences in the country, so for them to want Mike to be there says a lot about his abilities and his projection as a student-athlete. Congratulations, Michael Lennon.”
Colby Seelig – Chestnut Hill College (Baseball)
Major: Sports management
Reasons for choosing Chestnut Hill: “It’s closer to home, and my parents and also my brother can come and watch me. Also, I feel I can become a better baseball player there.”
Favorite baseball memory: “The 24-hour Florida trip we went on last spring. It was crazy. We went down there, and all of a sudden (because of the COVID-19 pandemic), we had to go all the way back. The night before we flew back, we had a baseball game, and that was very special.”
Coach Kevin Manero says: “One of the things that defines Colby Seelig most is he really is a fighter. All the spring sports athletes from every sport missed a really big chunk of time to develop and to showcase themselves and become next level players, but Colby had to miss a lot more than that because he had a very serious health condition that came up not this past summer but the summer before. It caused him to be shut down from all of sports for several months at a time where – in the middle of your high school career as a junior – you’re really putting forth that biggest step forward and you’re making the greatest gains, and Colby fought through all of that. When he finally showed up toward the latter half of last winter, able to swing a bat and do things physically, it really looked like he never missed a beat. He lost a ton of weight and a ton of muscle mass in those few months, but it seemed like he got it back like that, and nobody recovers like that except for somebody who really works hard and really puts the time in. He’s been a hardworking kid his whole life, but the last year-plus that he’s had to go through – it’s just tremendous to see that he he’s sitting here today and has the opportunity to play at the next level. Congratulations, Colby Seelig.”
Evin Sullivan – Binghamton University (Baseball)
Major: Business/Finance
Final list of colleges: Binghamton, Lehigh, St. Joseph’s, U.S. Military Academy
Reasons for choosing Binghamton: “What led me to Binghamton was - my whole goal was to get into a school I probably wouldn’t normally get into academically by using my athletics. Binghamton offered that to me. They offer a good academic program along with a great baseball program.”
Favorite memory: “Last fall in the semifinal of the fall league playoffs, I hit a walk-off home run, and we all just went kind of crazy afterwards. It was pretty fun.”
Most important thing learned at North Penn: “I think what I gained most is a better work ethic, the importance of the weight room and how to take constructive criticism, especially from a coach like Manero.”
Coach Kevin Manero says: “Obviously, we didn’t have a season last spring, so it’s hard for me to rattle off statistics that got Evin to where he is right now, but a lot of other things got him to where he is. It started off with a story I tell every time I talk about the Sullivans, and that is – my first memory with baseball was up at Nor-Gwyn at the baseball complex. I walked up by the batting cage one day and I saw a mom with a helmet on her head throwing batting practice to her three sons, and Evin Sullivan was one of them. Eileen is still with us – somehow she survived that, and it’s that love of baseball from a very young age and that constant desire to do whatever they could to get better that’s the number one reason why Evin is where he is today. Evin’s father, Paul, was a long-time, dedicated volunteer for the Nor-Gwyn organization, so their community ties run deep. When I see Evin here today, I see it as the culmination of many years in our community programs and many years of very hard work. Not this past summer but the summer before when Evin verbally committed to Binghamton, his assistant coach called me more times than probably my own parents called me over the course of a couple of week span – he wanted Evin there very badly, and we know exactly why. He’s a physically gifted athlete with an incredible work ethic, and now he’s going to a baseball program that’s embarking on a $60 million baseball facility renovation to have one of the most state of the art complexes in the country. Evin is going to follow in the footsteps of Eddie Posavec, a 2013 grad who played there and helped guide them to an NCAA appearance when he was there. Evin is a fantastic kid, a fantastic athlete, and when we worry about the time that we miss because of COVID, we never worry about kids like Evin and the time they’re putting in in the weight room, on the field and at the batting cage. He’s bound for very great things ahead. Evin Sullivan, congratulations.”
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