Callahan Signs With Slippery Rock Baseball

By: Ed Weaver  /  June 1, 2022

After a summer full of college showcases, All-Star events, talking to many college coaches and lots of travel, Wellsboro slugger Darryn Callahan decided to call Slippery Rock University his new home.

Callahan officially committed to both a baseball and academic scholarship in November of 2021 as a junior, but that meant an entire season of HS ball left before moving on to SRU.

After a 2022 season that would see Callahan bat .419 with a .806 slugging %, and where he would pound out an additional 6 doubles, 6 triples, and 2 home runs, the Wellsboro Baseball team's 2022 season came to an end following a 7-4 loss to Hughesville in the District IV Class AAA semi-finals. In that game, senior Callahan went 2-for-4 with a single and a double off the center field wall. He also flashed the leather at 3rd base, capping it off with an incredible diving stop on a hit down the line to hold the batter to a single and keep additional runs from scoring.

While it was the final game for some, Callahan is fortunate to be continuing his career with perennial powerhouse Slippery Rock University. The Rock, as they are known, plays in the extremely competitive PSAC conference. Gannon, Slippery Rock, Mercyhurst, Cal U, IUP, Seton Hill, Pitt-Johnstown and Clarion make up the west. In the east are Millersville, West Chester, Shippensburg, E. Stroudsburg, Bloomsburg, Mansfield, Shepherd, Kutztown, and Lock Haven.

"Lots of schools and coaches were talking to me, but Slippery Rock was on my radar since I was a sophomore in high school when I attended a camp there. I immediately fell in love with their new stadium and field, the facilities, the coaching staff, the campus, and the area," Callahan said. "Coach Messer has been there for a long time, and he was fun to talk to and easy to like. I'm really looking forward to being there and playing baseball at The Rock!"

Callahan was a standout three sport athlete at Wellsboro. He has received All-League awards in football, basketball, and baseball. He was named player of the year in baseball, defensive player of the year in basketball twice, and defensive first team in football. He holds the record at Wellsboro for triples in a season (6) and for a career (9). His latest achievement was being named Wellsboro's Male Athlete of the Year.

Callahan started playing baseball at a very young age and has been at it ever since. "Baseball has always been in my blood. My great grandfather (Harold Berguson) played in the Yankees farm system and my uncle (Ryan Callahan) played D1 baseball at Ohio University, so all of us in my family love America's pastime."

Darryn has played for many teams over the years. As far as travel teams go, it first started at the age of 6 with the Wellsboro Hustlers. He then went on to play for US Elite (Montoursville), Northeast Pride (Scranton), Complete Game Academy (Lancaster), and his current team, Elite Baseball (Mt. Joy).

Darryn would like to thank his family and friends that have supported him throughout this process, as well as all of the coaches throughout his career that have helped him along the way.