2025 Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team: Hempfield’s Brock Heisler

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Monday, July 21, 2025 | 9:48 AM

Though he is young for his grade, Brock Heisler has an old-school side to him.

The Hempfield senior lineman, who just turned 17, wears vintage T-shirts to practice with pro athletes of the past on them, like Ken Griffey Jr. and Dale Earnhardt Sr.

He listens to classic bands like Metallica, Van Halen and Creed.

“My dad and pap are really into NASCAR, so I kind of got into it that way,” Heisler said. “My dad is old school, so I kind of get it from him, I guess.”

There also is a bit of throwback in Heisler’s game. The Harvard commit has blossomed into one of the top two-way linemen in WPIAL Class 6A with a quiet grit and measured approach.

But Heisler isn’t all snarling junkyard dog.

He turned down numerous Division I offers — two dozen in total — including those from Power 4 programs, to go the way of the Ivy League.

That tells you he has a cognitive side to his play, a dangerous aspect for less-prepared opponents who get in the way of his blocking.

“I mean, you look for things,” he said. “Guys putting weight on their knuckles, guys with their hands on their knees. Stuff like that. You try to get a step ahead of other linemen.”

Heisler grew up playing receiver and tight end before making a switch to the line two years ago as a sophomore.

Hempfield coach Nick Keefer said Heisler has natural leadership qualities that complement his playing ability.

“He has been posting our weight board for a while now,” Keefer said. “He wants to help his teammates get better. He finds true happiness in that. Football is all be thinks about.”

Heisler has athletics in his blood. His dad, Chad, played football at Penns Manor, and his mom, Jackie (Slezak), was a WPIAL 400-meter dash champion at Hempfield.

His sister, Peyton, a former Hempfield softball standout, continues to play her sport at Penn.

“I think this is going to be a playoff team,” Brock Heisler said of Hempfield. “We have a lot of guys back. Depth on our line is going to be the key.

“The potential is there.”

Brock Heisler

Hempfield

Senior

6-foot-3, 260 pounds

OT/DT

Committed to: Harvard

Division I offers: West Virginia, William & Mary, Sacramento State, Air Force, Navy, Villanova, James Madison, Stony Brook, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Ohio, Miami (Ohio), Kent State, Temple, Lehigh, Delaware, Akron, Buffalo, Fordham, Cornell, Princeton, Arkansas State

Highlights: Hudl

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Hempfield