Mike Vukovcan Hopewell senior pitcher Kingston Krotec’s dream of playing college baseball is coming true.
Prior to this 2026 season, Krotec had all but given up on the goal of playing baseball beyond high school. However, thanks to an incredible senior season, that dream has become a reality.
Hopewell softball and youth baseball is sponsored by Lisa McCoy, your neighborhood State Farm agent.
On Monday evening, Krotec received a call from the coaches at California University of Pa., who extended Krotec an offer to play baseball next season.
Considering the adversity with injuries, this is an incredible comeback story. Keep in mind, two years ago, Krotec suffered a serious broken ankle, who took time to fully recover. King was able to play baseball last season but an injury like that, takes time to recover and despite gutting it out, he wasn’t 100% all season.
This year, the ankle is completely healed and Krotec looks like the pitcher we saw when Hopewell won a WPIAL championship his freshman season.
Hopewell’s Kingston Krotec
Check out these numbers, which include today’s 4-3 win over Central Valley.
Krotec’s 5 Section Starts:
Innings Pitched: 33
Complete Games: 5
Hits Allowed: 22
Walks: 5
Strikeouts: 34
ERA: 0.54Â
Following this afternoon’s game, Vikings Sports Now spoke with ‘Kinger’ about this news. Prior to Monday, Krotec was all set on attending IUP and now things have changed and he’ll be playing baseball at Cal U.
“When I got the news, I was kind of frozen and thought to myself no way and I kept the talk going and pretty much was told I have a spot on the team,” Krotec tells VSN. “I was set on my college decision (IUP) with my buddies, but stuff changed in the blink of an eye.”
Hopewell’s Kingston Krotec
“I got the text saying Cal U. might be reaching out to me and 20 minutes later the head coach texted me asking if I was set on school or if I was still looking to play. I told him I was committed but open to playing if an opportunity came and he came back saying that there was a spot if I wanted it.”
Krotec is now the 4th member of this 2026 Hopewell team that will be playing baseball beyond high school as he joins Charlie Smetana, Drew Donovan and Ben McDonald. Logan Triscila will be playing football at Geneva.
“I was very happy to hear about Kingston receiving and accepting the offer to play at Cal U.,” said Hopewell HC Morgan Singletary. “He has put a lot of time into baseball growing up and wasn’t sure if he was going to play after high school. He is having a fantastic season, and all that time is paying off. I’m happy that he’s being recognized and he is getting the opportunity to play at the next level. I’m also excited to see how he steps up to the challenge.”
“It’s a lifelong dream to play college baseball at a great, competitive school like Cal U. and the situation in coaching and how I have experience playing for him, I couldn’t be more grateful,” said Krotec. “I’m determined to get bigger and stronger this summer so I can hopefully make an impact at Cal next year”
