On Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021, Pennsbury seniors Justin Mitrovich, Charlie Evans and Callan Fang were recognized for committing to continue their baseball careers at the collegiate level. (Photos courtesy of Jennifer Neill/Pennsbury HS)
“Unfortunately, with all these kids, we lose their sophomore year, so you don’t really get to see their development over time, but you saw their hard work in the offseason,” Pennsbury coach Joe Pesci says. “You look at these three kids, and they could have played football, basketball, baseball, soccer, whatever at a high level. We don’t tell them to focus on one. Some of them are playing other sports. Just to have the three of those kids as incredibly important parts of our team – Callan Fang and Justin Mitrovich were going to be our one-two last year, and when Callan went down, Mitrovich took on almost all of our big games. Unfortunately, he had a couple of losses that should have been wins because we didn’t hit or didn’t field behind him. These three kids – they go to work, they do their business, they support their teammates. It’s such a great extension of the coaching staff to have kids like that helping us so we don’t have to police our own stuff. They’re there doing the things we need them to do.”
Charlie Evans – Winthrop University (Baseball)
Major: Sports Management or Sports Marketing
Final list of colleges: Winthrop, Rhode Island, Penn State, UMass, Binghamton
Reasons for choosing Winthrop: “It was one of the only southern schools that offered me. I felt the weather and the competition was just better down south, and the coaching staff was great. The education, the campus was just all beautiful. It was a no brainer.”
What was the progression that led you to competing in baseball at the collegiate level? “Freshman year I really started to look into playing college baseball. My goal was just to play at the highest level I could, so I worked hard. I wasn’t the biggest guy. I grinded every day, got bigger, got stronger and just put in the work, and I got to where I wanted to get. I reached my goal.”
Coach Joe Pesci: “Charlie is a phenomenal athlete overall. He could be out there playing multiple sports, but after ninth grade, he saw the path was baseball. I think Charlie is one of -if not the best hitter in the league. He’s incredibly fast, and he can hit all pitches. Last year, he was a unanimous first team outfielder. He has power, and he had a couple of home runs last year, but he also is just a terror on the bases. As a hitter, he’s top notch for sure. He’s dangerous. He put a lot of time in the weight room, so he’s putting on strength in that aspect too. He’s just a kid who constantly works at his game to the point where he jokingly annoys his coaches because it’s nine or 10 o’clock at night, and he’s texting me to go hit at my facility. His dad was telling me he was hitting at one of the little league fields with his headlights on. He’s just that type of kid. I make comments that it’s the best players who don’t need the extra reps that always take the extra reps. He’s 100 percent that kid.
“He’s been a great leader for me overall. He’s a go-to kid to me for a lot of things. I’ve known him for a very long time and coming up through he’s always been a pretty good kid and understood what his path was going to be. I’m really happy for him that Winthrop offered him what they did. He got a good offer, especially for outfielders who typically don’t get a ton of money. He’s seeing that he’s valued there. I think he’s going to go in, and I think he’s going to compete right away. He’s a high level kid. I joke about being annoying, but it’s amazing to see how much work a kid puts in to try to try to master their craft, and that’s what Charlie does.”
About Charlie:
Favorite food: Steak
Favorite TV show: Friday Night Lights
Favorite artist: Coldplay
Callan Fang – Harvard University (Baseball)
Major: Business/Finance
Final list of colleges: Harvard, Lehigh, University of Pennsylvania, Fordham, Duke, University of New Orleans
Reasons for choosing Harvard: “I really liked the campus. I actually got to go up there before the pandemic hit, and I think I had the best relationship with the coaching staff.”
What was the progression that led you to competing in baseball at the collegiate level? “It was definitely always a dream. My dad played baseball in college, so I guess just following his footsteps, and then also my mom was really big in continuing education. (I) definitely committed myself to the sport of baseball which I love, working really hard and working towards the goal of playing in college and then hopefully professionally.”
Coach Joe Pesci says: “Callan Fang had some other opportunities, but it’s very hard to not make the business decision and the future decision to go to Harvard. What’s great about Callan – he jumped in with us as a freshman pitcher, but he had an injury last year and he was relegated to just DHing, and he was a first team all-league DH. When Callan was in eighth grade, he was the pitch, run and hit champion for his age group and was honored at the (Major League) All-Star Game. He’s obviously a very smart kid, and he’s very calculated and cerebral. He’s a kid who asks questions, and he’s learning from game situations. He’s not loud, he’s not the rah, rah type, but he is incredibly supportive of his teammates. Kids obviously look up to him because they see his intelligence and his ability. He’s going to Harvard because he’s incredibly smart, but it’s also a Division 1 program. He had offers from several other places, and that was before he really showed what he could do hitting. Last year as our DH, he was top two on our team in many of the categories hitting-wise. The fact that he gets to go to Harvard and have that the rest of his life but also the fact that he can pitch and play a position and see how that pans out for him is great. He’s another kid with a great, supportive family. During COVID, he and his dad built a mound in his yard so he could keep going.”
About Callan:
Favorite food: Pasta
Favorite TV show: The Office
Favorite music: Everything
Justin Mitrovich – Elon University (Baseball)
Major: Economics
Final list of colleges: Elon, Penn State, University of New Orleans, Millersville
Reasons for choosing Elon: “The coaching staff really stood out. They showed a lot of interest in me when I was going through the process, and the school itself has a great atmosphere. It’s a very nice and pretty school.”
What was the progression that led you to competing in baseball at the collegiate level? “I want to eventually go professional, and I knew college was the next step in that dream. I worked really hard to get to where I’m at, and it just fell into place as I was going through the process.”
Coach Joe Pesci says: “Justin and Charlie were freshmen on the JV team. Both of them came to a couple of practices for us, and then they lose their sophomore season. Justin, during sophomore tryouts, was throwing in the mid 80s, and he definitely piqued our interest. Then we lost our season, and the following year it starts climbing and climbing, and he starts touching some numbers that really piqued the interest of a bunch of schools. He’s a big kid – 6-3 or 6-4, and last year, he was a second team all-league pitcher and outfielder. He’s another hard worker, and Mitrovich is more of a quiet, show-them-what-to-do leader. He’ll make his noise when he has to, but he’s a kid that really channels his anger in games into focus, and he’s really able to turn up the volume on his pitches and his velocity when he puts his focus into it. He’s been up to 93-94, and Elon is a great school for a pitching staff. Personally, I think he’s going to get into their rotation pretty quickly or at least get opportunities, and I think he’s just going to grow from there. Again, he’s a big kid with a frame who is a really hard worker. He has a very smooth delivery, so that means there’s miles per hour to be added over time. Both Charlie and Justin are from great families who are very involved. Justin is another kid who is always putting in that extra time. I own a facility, and he was always in there either by himself or with a group of guys getting working. He’s been doing the travel ball circuit, playing for a team out of Indiana. He played for a U.S. Elite team. I think his goals and his potential are beyond just college but possibly the next level too.”
About Justin:
Favorite food: Crab
Favorite TV show: The Office
Favorite music: EDM
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