SHARON — We’ve all had something taken away from us at one point or another. Whether it be a material item, an activity, or a routine experience, the sudden vanishment of that thing is painful. Such is the way for competitive athletes. Meadville Area Senior High School graduate Mason Walker is no different.
The rising sophom*ore for the newly formed Penn State University Shenango baseball program had baseball taken away from him in his freshman and sophom*ore years of high school. COVID-19 forced his freshman season to be canceled and his sophom*ore season was lost due to injury. But ever since he returned to the diamond in 2022 for his junior year of high school baseball, Walker has made it his mission to not take it for granted.
“Baseball was my favorite sport from the day I started playing it,” said Walker. “My twin brother, Brady, and myself played up in age on my older brother Zach’s coach-pitch team. My passion only grew from there.”
The Walker trio have all found their way to the college level with Zach playing baseball and basketball at Penn State Shenango, Brady playing football for Washington & Jefferson College and Mason playing baseball for the Penn State Shenango Nittany Lions. Playing college baseball with Zach was never something he foresaw happening, but it’s an opportunity he’s thankful for.
“It means everything to me. Once Zach spoke with the coaches and joined the team, I was excited,” Walker said. “I never thought that I’d play a college sport with either of my brothers.”
This summer, the Walkers will all play in a summer collegiate baseball league in the area; marking the first time they’ve all been on the same team in many years. The Tri-State Collegiate Baseball League is a misleading name for a league that welcomes teams from just two states today, but regardless, the Walker will represent the 3B Barons out of New Castle in the Rust Belt League, with Mason hoping to stay hot on the mound.
In his first college season, Walker became one of the go-to arms for the Shenango Lions. In just nine appearances, he collected three wins and a save on the bump. His earned-run average was also an impressive 2.43 to go with 31 punchouts over 37 innings pitched. Walker’s contributions certainly aided the program to a winning record at 18-12 overall. It’s quite an accomplishment for a first-year program and a group of players who are almost exclusively underclassmen. The team built a strong camaraderie from fall ball and continued to prepare for the season and it showed on the diamond in 2024.
Much of the program is made up of young men from western Pennsylvania, with many coming from several District 10 schools. This familiarity and blue collar mentality that many from our region of the country share certainly helped bring the program together in just a few short months. With many members of the program coming back for the 2025 season, this young ball club should take a jump next season and could be in contention for the postseason.
Living out a dream as a college baseball player has been an all-around great experience, but there are also many memories from his younger years he cherishes to this day. From the age of 9-12, his team won district championships at the youth level each year. In his 10-year-old year, the team even advanced all the way to the state tournament and finished as a top-eight team in the state.
These summers playing alongside his Brady and many of his great friends will always stand out no matter how his collegiate career continues to unfold. Another significant moment to him was taking the field for his first varsity baseball game after missing the first half of his high school baseball career. Returning to the game he loves will always be an emotional experience for Walker to look back on.
Through the recent highs in his baseball career and the difficult times of missing two straight seasons, he’s been appreciative of his high school head coach, Tony Tartaglione. Coach Tartaglione believed in Walker and stuck with him through his high school career. He also helped him to get recruited to play at the college level by several local programs. In addition to his high school head coach, his father, Robbie, was his first baseball mentor. The many times the Walker played catch and wiffleball in the yard as a family created core memories that they all share and look back on quite fondly.
Baseball was Mason Walker’s first love and it remains his favorite sport to this day. When there were doubts he could live out his dream as a college player, he buckled down and made the most of his two years as a Meadville Bulldog baseball player. His play has landed him an opportunity and he’s making the most of it with the Shenango Nittany Lions.
New program or not, an opportunity to play college ball anywhere and work toward a business degree is something he will never take for granted. He knows what it’s like to be out of the game he loves and he hopes that there’s still a few more years to be on the mound.
“I’m appreciative of the county and people who raised me. I’ll always be grateful for all the community members, some that I don’t even know, who have supported me and encouraged me,” Walker said. “It’s special to be from this tight-knit community and that people continue to show up for me and support me.”
