3-sport standout Jack Bruckner leaves lasting legacy at Bethel Park

By: Ray Fisher
Saturday, July 26, 2025 | 10:47 AM

Previous Next

Jack Bruckner left a lasting legacy at Bethel Park.

A three-sport standout, Bruckner composed a best-seller success story as a student-athlete and nine-time varsity letter winner for the Black Hawks.

The 6-foot, 185-pound recent high school graduate competed in football in the fall, turned to basketball during the winter and played an outfield position for the baseball team in the spring. He was a varsity starter for three years in all three sports.

“Jack is a great athlete, but more importantly a special human being,” said Pat Zehnder, Bethel Park’s baseball coach. “He epitomizes our motto TTOB; ‘things turn out best’ for those who make the best of the way things turn out. He handles himself with dignity and class no matter what circumstances he is facing. He isn’t worried about looking ‘cool’ or putting others down to raise himself up. He treats people with respect and uses his positivity to uplift those around him.

“Along with many of our seniors, he leaves a legacy of success; but more importantly, doing things the right way through success and failure. Traits like that ensure that Jack will be successful in his future.”

During his exceptional career, Bruckner participated in more than 100 team victories and almost 30 playoff games. He was named all-conference or all-section multiple times and served as a team captain in football and basketball as a senior.

“I’ve been very blessed to have had such a memorable athletic career,” Bruckner said. “I was part of multiple section titles and WPIAL championship appearances, but my greatest memories are the lifelong friendships I’ve made with my teammates and the opportunity to play for amazing coaches.

“Coach Z (baseball) and Coach Joe (football) have made an immeasurable impact on my life. And the opportunity to play for a basketball legend in coach Calabria and take ‘la famiglia’ to the Elite Eight of states was amazing.”

Bruckner was a three-year starter at wide receiver and two-year starter at cornerback. He was a two-time all-conference selection and a member of the 2022 conference championship team.

In 2024, Bruckner earned the Iron Hawk Award, Bethel Park Football Scholar Athlete Scholarship and Shawn O’Mara Memorial BP Football Scholarship.

He plans to continue his career as a wide receiver at Carnegie Mellon.

“My goal is to follow in my dad’s footsteps and bring Carnegie Mellon football a national championship,” he said. “My dad caught the winning touchdown for Westminster College in the 1994 title game.

“CMU is a tremendous football program, winning multiple conference championships and making the national tournament. The Tartans are poised to take the next step and win the national title. My goal is to be an integral part of that and help the team bring home a natty.”

Bruckner will pursue a business degree from the Tepper School of Business, the No. 6-ranked undergraduate business school in the nation.

“I was always interested in finding a school that put a priority on education as well as athletics,” Bruckner said. “I had some interest from a couple Ivy League schools and local smaller DI/FCS programs. It just always felt like CMU was a great fit. From the moment they offered me after my junior season, I knew I was going to be a Tartan.”

The 18-year-old Bruckner graduated from Bethel Park with a 4.3 GPA and as a member of the National Honor Society.

He started in 69 career basketball games and played hoops for coaches Dante Calabria and Rico Abbondanza.

The Black Hawks reached the PIAA Elite Eight in 2024 — the first time in 50 years the boys basketball team advanced that far in the state playoffs.

Bruckner also was chosen MVP of the 2025 Hampton tournament.

He competed on four section champion baseball teams and started in the outfield in the team’s last three PIAA playoff runs. Bethel Park advanced to the WPIAL finals in 2023 and 2024.

Bruckner was chosen all-section as an outfielder twice in his career.

Bethel Park won its final eight regular season games in 2025 then went 3-1 in the district playoffs to take a 19-5 record into the PIAA Class 5A tournament.

The Black Hawks reached the WPIAL final four for the fifth straight season by defeating No. 13 Franklin Regional, 11-1, and No. 5 Thomas Jefferson, 5-4 in eight innings, in the first two rounds of the playoffs.

The club suffered a 5-4 loss to Pine-Richland in the semifinals then erupted for a 17-2 four-inning win against Peters Township in the third-place game.

But Bethel Park’s dream of playing for the PIAA Class 5A championship fell a little short.

The Black Hawks crushed DuBois, 15-1, at Showers Field in DuBois in the first round of the state playoffs before losing a 6-3 decision to WPIAL champion and PIAA runner-up Shaler.

Bethel Park ended up 20-6 overall.

“Coach Zehnder leads an amazing program,” Bruckner said. “The lessons he teaches can benefit the team for the rest of our lives. And no matter how many runs we are down, a Pat Zehnder-coached team never thinks it is out of the game.

“This season, we won 20 games and beat three section champs (Beaver, Riverside, Canon-McMillan). We brought Bethel Park a 36th section championship. We won the third-place game in WPIAL tournament. And we made the Elite Eight in states. We did all of this with two of our top pitchers out with injuries. It’s sad to think what could have been, but all in all we had a great year.”

Bruckner hit .318 with a .416 on-base percentage this spring. He finished with 21 hits in 66 at-bats and drew 11 walks. He batted .286 with a .352 OBP in 2024.

“Whether in football at CMU or in his future job or family life, Jack is going to make a great impact with any group of people he interacts with,” Zehnder said.

The Bruckner tradition will continue at Bethel Park at least until the end of the decade. Bruckner’s brother Brady and cousin Mike already are household names on the Bethel Park campus.

“I shared the field and court with my brother and cousin,” Bruckner said. “It’s pretty cool that there were only two guys in Bethel Park to letter in football, basketball and baseball this year and they both live at our house — Brady and myself.

“Brady, Mike and I have had a lot of success athletically, but my sister Taylor might be the best athlete in the family.”

Bruckner’s sister will be in ninth grade this year. She was a regional champion gymnast but will focus on soccer and track in high school.

Tags: Bethel Park