Drew Lafferty has a secret to tell, something that he admits to rarely speak of.

“Well, growing up I was a huge Penn State fan,” Lafferty says. “I don’t share that often these days. But yeah, I was all about Penn State back in the day.”

Today, the South Park (PA) native who played for the Scrappers during the first half of the season is all about Pittsburgh. He says he is a huge fan of the Pirates and Penguins and he “absolutely loves” the Steelers.

“When it comes to sports, I”m all about Pittsburgh, I’m all in,” Lafferty said.

As for his current college of choice?

Lafferty switched his allegiances in more ways than one, and he is now completely committed to the University of Pittsburgh. After spending two years at the University of Kentucky, Lafferty says he is “back home” at Pitt. Lafferty recently completed his redshirt sophomore season with the Panthers.

A 2022 graduate of South Park High School, Lafferty was a three-time First Team All-WPIAL honoree and was the WPIAL Player of the Year as a senior. He helped lead his teams to WPIAL titles in 2019, 2020 and 2022 and were runners-up in 2021. He was named the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Class 3A Player of the Year in 2022 after posting a 1.57 ERA with 103 strikeouts in 62.1 innings while batting .492.

Lafferty’s reputation as a baseball standout was established at a very young age. In fact, he committed to Kentucky in the fall of his freshman year of high school, months before his first-ever high school game.

“It was a bit nervy at times because from that point on I always heard the chirps, ‘Oh, there’s the kid going to the SEC…there’s the Kentucky kid, let’s see what he’s got,'” Lafferty said. “But I’ve always been super competitive. When I heard the chirps I just took it in stride. It fueled my fire.”

Lafferty redshirted his first year at Kentucky, then was a weekend starter for the Wildcats in 2024. He transferred to Pitt in the fall of 2024 and this past spring he started 13 games for the Panthers prior to his arrival in the Mahoning Valley.

“I loved my time at Kentucky,” Lafferty said. “We went to Omaha one year and to the Super Regionals another year. You can’t ask for much more than that. Everything about the school and the program was fantastic.”

“At the end of the day (Pitt) just seemed like a better fit. I wanted to be a weekend pitcher, and I wasn’t sure I’d be in that role in Kentucky. As things worked out, I’m pitching in the ACC and I’m twenty minutes from home. I had a great year at Pitt and my family was able to follow me along the way.”

Family has also been able to follow Lafferty during his time in the MLB Draft League, as Eastwood Field is just 75 minutes from home.

Oddly enough, though Lafferty spent less than two months in the Draft League, he wore the jersey of four different teams. During the course of the season he was briefly sent to State College, West Virginia and Frederick when those teams were short on pitching.

“Literally there were times when I was given less than 24-hour notices,” Lafferty said. “It’s been a hectic summer, but I loved playing in this league.

“I’d put this league up against any summer ball league in the country. It’s very well-run with a lot of talented players. And I can’t say enough about the fans in the Mahoning Valley. They’ve been very supportive and welcoming, even to a Pittsburgh guy.”

With the Scrappers, Lafferty appeared in six games with a 1.93 ERA.