HARRISBURG, Pa. — Bishop McDevitt's Nick Slogik hits, in more ways than one.
"He's always a team leader," said Crusader baseball coach Levi Bailey. "He's always in a group getting ready for the game, helping everyone else. That's normally the first thing you see, other than looking at him and saying 'He's the biggest one out there.'"
Slogik was a verbal commit to the University of Pittsburgh when he helped Warwick to a state championship in baseball. But after a transfer for his junior year, Division One football coaches took note during a state title season with McDevitt. This meant that Slogik would have a decision to make between football or baseball at the next level.
After weighing his options, the senior had a pitch of his own for coaches.
"I love both a lot and I realized I didn't want to give up baseball, so if I had the opportunity to do both, I was going to capitalize and take it," recalled Slogik.
The NCAA says only 2% of student-athletes get to play Division 1 athletics. Slogik was looking to beat the odds twice.
"Some were opposed to it and some didn't like the idea so much and that kind of helped me slim down my options a little bit," recalled Slogik.
"I know it's mostly the football teams that do not like that. He's pretty headstrong, so for him, he was going to listen to advice, but ultimately, he was pushing forward to what he wanted for his goal," added Bailey.
Ultimately, it came down to East Carolina and Coastal Carolina.
"I like being close to the beach and I like the south, so those are two schools that really fit me."
Somehow, it's only fitting that the young man who wants to enter uncharted waters for many chose to be an East Carolina Pirate, where he's already set to make program history.
"I'm the first one to do it," said Slogik about playing football and baseball in Greenville, South Carolina. "A couple of people were against it but a lot of people were supportive of me and a lot of great people out there are going to help me get it done and make sure I get things done in the classroom and on the field."