Lucas Prokosch signs with FDU

By Mike Zummo
Posted 4/22/20

With the local high school baseball season in doubt due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Newburgh Free Academy senior Lucas Prokosch, at the very least, has collegiate baseball.

In November, Prokosch …

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Lucas Prokosch signs with FDU

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With the local high school baseball season in doubt due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Newburgh Free Academy senior Lucas Prokosch, at the very least, has collegiate baseball.

In November, Prokosch signed his national letter of intent to play baseball at Division I Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, NJ.

“I’m excited,” Prokosch said. “I think it’s going to be an exciting year for the freshman class to walk onto the field.”

Prokosch said first-year FDU coach Rob DiToma told him the freshmen are going to have a big role. The Knights were 4-9 before the season was canceled due to the pandemic.

“He said they really need us to take charge as a freshman,” Prokosch said.

He’s the first Newburgh Free Academy baseball player to go to a Division I college during Scott Seabury’s run as coach.

“It means a lot to me,” Prokosch said. “I feel like not every kid can be a student athlete and have that responsibility or have the determination I’ve had for every single day for countless years. Baseball has been everything to me. I have so much pride in it. It definitely made me the kid I am today.”

It’s also a humbling game, considering even the best hitters fail more than 70 percent of the time.

“It allows me to live day-by-day and knowing not every day is going to be good,” Prokosch said. “It teaches you a lesson about life. It teaches you about giving people more chances. There’s going to be failure and you have to accept that you will fail.”

Prokosch was penciled in to be the Goldbacks’ top pitcher and one of its key bats in the middle of the lineup. He was also going to be moved to the outfield to save his arm.

“He’s always had the size and ability from Day 1 to make an impact on our team,” Seabury said. “This is the year we were looking for him to lead the finished product on the field. We were looking for big things from him this year.”

He had previously spent most of his time in the field as a corner infielder, mostly at third base.

He came up to the varsity team as a freshman.

“Lucas has come a long way,” Seabury said. “He’s had plenty of coaching and he has a top-notch work ethic. He works harder than any kid I’ve seen. He has improved quite a bit as both a pitcher and as a hitter.”

The pandemic has been doubly hard on Prokosch, who lost his aunt, Susan Prokosch, a former Newburgh Enlarged City School District Board of Education member to the virus, on March 30 due to complications related to COVID-19.

“It’s been devastating, but it just adds fuel to the fire,” Lucas Prokosch said. “I’m going to keep going and live up to what my aunt said, ‘always work hard and work to your dreams’. All it’s given me since she passed away is motivation to do the best I can to make her happy.”

Still, even though it looks bleak right now, there is still hope that there will be a season this spring. Prokosch said he hopes that they can at least get a few games in.

“I feel terrible for these seniors,” Seabury said. “‘These guys have put in so much work and I feel terrible because I want to see it through with these guys. I don’t want to see their high school careers just end.”