BELLEFONTE — In a fantastic baseball region in central Pennsylvania, Peyton Vancas has stood out as one of the premier talents in the area since his freshman year with Bellefonte baseball in 2021.
Now in his senior season, Vancas set lofty goals for his final season of high school baseball.
“One of my biggest personal goals for this upcoming baseball season is to break the all-time Bellefonte hit record. I currently have 85 hits through three seasons. The current hit record is 119 hits. Another personal goal I have for myself is to break the Centre County doubles career record,” Vancas said before the season.
Through 15 games, the Raider is hitting .444 with 24 hits, putting him at 109 career hits, just 10 away from the program record. Averaging over a hit per game, if Bellefonte can make a run in the District 6 playoffs, and Vancas plays in the team’s final five regular season matchups, the record is in reach.
For Vancas, a District 6 championship is the bare minimum for the Raiders as he hopes to continue the school’s storied history of winning.
“A big team goal for this year is to carry on the Bellefonte Baseball tradition of winning the District 6 championship. This seems to be the baseline or the standard of Bellefonte baseball for the past couple years,” he said. “I also have a goal to help and lead the team into the state playoffs and have a deep playoff run.”
Regardless of how the team continues to do in 2025, Vancas has college athletics to look forward to. The fielder committed to Quinnipiac last season, a decision he made because of its feeling of home.
“I chose Quinnipiac University because of the instant feeling that I was at home right when I got onto campus. I fell in love with the new facilities that have recently been put in for the baseball team and players,” Vancas said. “I immediately grew a strong relationship with Coach Stover and with Head Coach Delaney. Right after my official visit, I instantly felt that Quinnipiac was the right place for me.”
Vancas not only committed for his elite baseball ability, but also his ability to keep up with academics. Per his Twitter, now referred to as X, he has maintained a 4.0 throughout high school while balancing baseball and basketball.
“I am very busy with both the sports I play, including not just Baseball but also Basketball, so I do have to schedule time and manage my schoolwork well,” Vancas said. “I take my schoolwork very seriously and always strive to be my best self in school. It’s easy to have perseverance in the school environment considering I have great perseverance in my sports environments.”
Academic and athletic success does not come without a proper support system and a true role model. The future Bobcat gives a lot of thanks to his dad for helping him become so successful and the person he is today.
“I have always looked up to my father during the course of my life. I look up to him as a great person and leader in his daily life,” Vancas said. “I always looked up to him when he was my elementary school principal when I was younger. So of course I looked up to him in the sports world, but also I looked up to him just as much, if not probably more, just as the person he is and the father he is.”
