Norwin’s Matt O’Neil commits to Mercyhurst

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Saturday, September 13, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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Matt O’Neil, a significant contributor and two-year letterman for Norwin baseball, will continue his playing career at the NCAA Division I level.

O’Neil recently announced a verbal commitment to Mercyhurst, which left the Division II Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference for the D-1 Northeast Conference in the fall of 2024.

O’Neil, a senior with one more season of prep baseball remaining, was recruited as a pitcher.

Mercyhurst has established a recruiting pipeline to Norwin in recent years, with six Knights alums on the 2025 roster.

O’Neil also had interest from other D-1 programs, and from several in the PSAC.

“It has always been a dream of mine to play college baseball at the highest level,” the righthander O’Neil said. “It was a hard decision based on the relationships that I formed with some of these schools and their coaches. In the end, Mercyhurst provided me with the perfect combination of athletics and academics. I also know some current and prior players who have had nothing but good things to say about the coaches and their program. All of these things played a role in my decision making.”

O’Neil, who also is an outfielder for the Knights, went 2-1 last season with a 2.24 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 25 innings pitched.

“Matt has worked very hard throughout his high school career both on the field and in the weight room,” Norwin coach Craig Spisak said. “His fastball velocity has improved each season and his off-speed pitches have developed nicely. He has late break on his off-speed pitches which makes him very difficult to hit against.

“Matt will be an important part of our team this upcoming season.”

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

Tags: Norwin