North Allegheny outfielder JJ Mancuso flashes potential in sophomore season

By: John Grupp
Saturday, April 12, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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North Allegheny sophomore outfielder JJ Mancuso is doing his best not to act his age.

After an up-and-down freshman season in which he combined great potential with inconsistency, Mancuso is finding a calm balance for the WPIAL Class 6A defending champion Tigers.

“Obviously, last year wasn’t what I really wanted toward the end of the year,” said Mancuso, the first freshman to start at NA since MLB first-rounder Cole Young in 2019. “But I put in a lot of work this offseason, and I feel like I’m at a pretty good spot at the plate this year.”

The 6-foot, 175-pound Mancuso is batting .250 with a team-best .563 slugging percentage though five games for the Tigers (3-2, 1-0 in Section 1-6A), who have rebounded from a rare 0-2 start.

Batting third in the lineup, Mancuso was tied for the team lead in home runs and runs and was second in RBIs but had struck out seven times in 19 plate appearances.

He went 3 for 3 with three RBIs and a home run in a 9-8 loss at Norwin and hit an RBI triple and scored twice in a 9-8 come-from-behind win over Plum on April 3.

“I think the biggest thing for him is consistency,” NA coach Andrew Heck said. “Having consistently good at-bats, I think it was kind of a learning lesson (last season). The start of this season is a little bit more of the same thing. You always have to remind yourself he’s only a sophomore.”

Mancuso began his high school career with a flourish. On the first pitch of his first varsity at-bat last season, he hit a two-run homer. His teammates mobbed him at home plate in the win over visiting Norwin.

“It’s all a blur at this point,” Mancuso said. “I got up there, and I swung at the first pitch. It was a fastball pretty down the middle. If I was the pitcher, I wouldn’t really expect anything. I’m a freshman batting in the nine-hole. But I got a pitch and I smacked it, and it was a good swing.”

The good at-bats didn’t last all spring. Mancuso went 1 for 20 down the stretch and finished with a .196 batting average with only three extra-base hits in 51 at-bats. But he ranked top-five on the team in RBIs, runs scored and went 8 for 8 on stolen base attempts while playing solid corner outfield defense. He did all this as a fresh-faced 15-year-old starting for a championship team in the WPIAL’s largest classification.

“I think JJ is a very good player,” Heck said. “I don’t bring guys along as freshmen unless, you know, all of the categories are there. JJ does a really nice job for us defensively, covering a lot of ground in the outfield. At the plate, he’s got plus-power for a young kid, which is really, really good.”

After last year’s slow finish, Mancuso added about 15 pounds to his frame in the weight room and played travel ball with the Callery-based Marucci Spikes.

“I had a very good summer,” he said.

Mancuso batted “about .500” while playing 35-40 games, including tournaments in Ohio, Georgia and Indiana. He tinkered with his stance — “My swing has changed a little bit” — but the main focus was his approach at the plate.

“Overall, it wasn’t a swing thing,” he said. “It was what can I change in the box. Less thinking. Last year, I wasn’t looking for the right pitches. This year, I have a better idea of what I want to do at the plate. I think that’s helped me a lot.”

North Allegheny has regrouped after an 0-2 start, the program’s first since 2019 and only the second in at least two decades. The Tigers walked 25 batters in the two losses, but only 12 in wins over Mt. Lebanon, Plum and Section 1-6A rival Butler.

“It’s early,” Heck said. “I have full confidence in our pitchers. At the same time, they are going to be rusty, too. It’s just the nature of early spring baseball. It’s a reality.”

Said Mancuso, “I think we are on the right track. We are doing a good job of coming together as a team.”

Mancuso said playing varsity as a freshman was an “unforgettable experience” and the fact the Tigers were winning made his late-season slump easier to handle. This season, he has bigger goals.

“I definitely want to build off that and play better this year,” he said. “I want it to be a more memorable year for me, for sure.”

Tags: North Allegheny