COUDERSPORT — Kullen Crosby, a 2019 graduate of Coudersport High School, has gone on to Penn State Behrend to major in mechanical engineering technology and play for the Behrend Lions baseball team.
In his first college season, there was hardly a season at all as the COVID-19 pandemic canceled spring sports across the country. The Lions played just 11 games in their 2020 season, but Crosby was able to appear in three of those contests. The utility infielder and the Lions team returned from their spring break trip to Florida in March, and that was the end of their 2020 campaign.
The good news for the Lions is if there is baseball in 2021, they return the entire team, as they had no seniors on their 2020 ball club. This means Crosby, a two-time North Tier League All-Star and two-time Big 30 All-Star, should be in line for some playing time.
Before high school, Crosby liked baseball, but he really started to love it once he joined the Northeast Twins. He played with the organization for two summers, and his coach, Jerico Weitzel, was a big influence in helping him love the game of baseball and wanting to play in college. Crosby also played Legion baseball during a few summers and enjoyed being in an all wooden bat league.
He started to think about college ball right before his senior year of high school, and he started taking some visits and contacting some coaches to see if there was the potential for him to play there. He took interest in Saint Bonaventure, Slippery Rock, Millersville, and Behrend.
“I wanted to go somewhere I was going to play,” Crosby said. “I did not want to sit on the bench. If I am going to commit to college baseball, I wanted to get on the field and not just be on the team. I also always wanted to be an engineer, so Penn State Behrend became the best option for me.”
From an early age, the Coudersport native has been mechanically inclined, and his dad Kelly Crosby can take a lot of credit for that. Kelly Crosby has worked in the mechanical side of the oil and gas industry for many years, and he has gotten his son interested in this line of work as well. He has also taught his son the importance of starting something and following through with it the entire way.
“I have a little bit of a temper, I admit. My dad would teach me things and I would get frustrated, but he would not let me quit,” Crosby recalled. “I remember one time backing up a trailer and being upset that I was having trouble. He made me keep trying until I got it. I give my dad a lot of credit for shaping my love for engineering and being on my feet working all the time.”
Since March, Crosby has been a subcontractor for Kinder Morgan. He has been busy installing and uninstalling piping for oil and natural gas in Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania. The 19 year old has been working 12-hour days, but loves the line of work he is in. He could see himself working in this exact industry past college, and this is the second summer he has been involved with Kinder Morgan.
Since he has been busy working, he has not had much of a chance to get on the ball field. There have been some summer leagues, but he has traveled extensively and has only hit some balls off a tee in the evenings and on weekends.
In a few weeks, he may be able to take the field with his teammates at Behrend for some practices and intrasquad scrimmages, but if that will turn into a reality is yet to be determined. Crosby is heading back to school because some of the curriculum to be an engineer requires students to take certain parts of classes in person.
Looking back on his athletic career, Crosby was a part of two District 9 championship basketball teams in class AA in his sophomore and junior season. Due to injury, he was unable to compete as a senior. However, Crosby joked that some of his favorite memories from sports come from not playing, but practicing and hanging out with his teammates.
“Winning the D9 titles was awesome. I also won a D9 title the same night as my sister which is a special memory for my family,” he said. “From playing football my freshman year of high school, I made great memories. Playing alongside the Keglovitz boys among others, those times together I will always remember.”
Previously, we learned about how his father Kelly and coach Jerico Weitzel helped him become the man he is today, but his mother Tracy deserves a lot of credit as well. She has been by her sons side for every accomplishment and accolade he has racked up during his life.
In 2021, hopefully Crosby is hoping to have a chance to play more than just a handful of games all while preparing for his future as an engineer.
