Luke Costello is currently a sophomore at Cathedral Prep. He formerly attended Fairview Middle School before coming to Cathedral Prep.
Even though Luke has only been at Prep a little over a year, he’s made tons of unforgettable memories, but the one that stands out the most was the baseball team’s thrilling victory over Harbor Creek in last year’s District 10 Championship.
“The whole vibe was just crazy because the student section was there and cheering for us the whole game,” Luke said. “[They] got let out of school early to be there, and I remember there was some really big plays. We won that game too, and it was the first time we beat them [that season], and the whole game was so much fun.”
Although Luke had gone to Fairview his whole life, he knew that going to Prep would allow him to receive a lot more exposure in athletics.
“I went to Fairview for elementary and middle school,” he said, “and my mom teaches there as well, but I just had a lot of people that I knew that went to Prep. Academics, connections, sports, you know, everything is just second to none. You just can’t beat it; there’s not a better high school in the area.”
Not only is Luke a stellar student, but he’s also a multi-sport athlete, playing quarterback for the Cathedral Prep football team. From his first season playing at the junior varsity level, Luke has made a lot of memories from this season, but none stick out more than the influence of the seniors.
“So I’m on the JV team,” he said, “and all of the varsity players just push us so hard to the point where we can’t fail. And it just builds brotherhood so much in not even just football, but in every sport I’ve played. I’ve built a brotherhood with those people through the sport, and it’s just really good with the unity, and the varsity players make sure they hold us accountable and get better.”
Not only is Luke a talented quarterback, but he’s also a massively talented baseball player, manning third base and shortstop while also pitching as well. During the football season, Luke has had to take time away from the team due to baseball events in the hopes of receiving offers and interest from colleges, which he definitely has.
When asked how he balances the two sports, Luke acknowledged that it was “very hard.” He added that it was to look towards his future, saying, “At some point, I just think you’ve got to know what is right for your future, so that’s why I did miss one or two football games. It’s really hard, but you’ve got to really know what’s best for your future, and I think me missing those two games pushed me over the edge to committing. I got a lot of looks from different colleges and even MLB teams in those two weeks, so that was really big for me to just know what I was going to do in the future.”
Luke has played baseball since he was five years old, playing tee-ball in Fairview and Girard. During those early years, Luke and his father, Craig Costello, noticed how special of a player he could become.
“At a certain point,” he said, “me and my dad could tell that I was pretty good. I was showing out, and, at that point, we started to really work on it, such as getting with coaches. I also started to get with new teams, such as Beaver Valley, which is a team from Pittsburgh that I played for, and I play for the Canes now, which is one of the best organizations in the country. Getting the looks from all the coaches is a huge help.”
Luke found his inspiration to shoot for the stars in baseball from his dad. Luke said, “I mean, he’s been my coach in baseball, basketball, and football, but he’s also been a father figure. He definitely inspires me the most; he’s taught me how to work hard, and he was a wrestler, so he knows how to work hard. He’s always working his butt off, so it’s just taught me how to have that grit.”
Luke is just like many baseball players across the nation with who they look up to professionally. As a lifelong Yankees fan, Luke mentions he modeled his own game after Yankees legendary shortstop Derek Jeter.
“I’ve always been a Yankees fan,” Luke said. “[Jeter] has been my favorite player without a doubt in my mind, ever. I remember watching him when I was younger, like his last game at Yankee Stadium, and he got a walk-off hit to win the game. I actually started tearing up because I knew that was going to be the last time watching him on TV. He’s such a role model for younger kids because he just does all the right things. The reason I looked up to him was his hard work; he wasn’t the best, but he worked hard to get to where he is.”
Luke manned the Ramblers baseball team’s shortstop position in only his freshman year, so he has three years left playing high school baseball. He feels like the competition and pressure he faced as a freshman will help prepare him for the next few years.
“As a freshman,” he said, “I was not as mature as seniors, juniors, and even some sophomores. But even so, freshmen are still young kids just coming out of middle school, and when you play a varsity sport as a freshman, it helps you get on those big stages. For example, when we were playing McDowell, the D-10 Championship, the playoffs, it’s just a huge moment for a freshman.”
Luke added, “When I look back at it, all the hard work, sweat, and the brotherhood with the team, it was just an awesome feeling to be out there with [those guys].”
His baseball prowess and ability have gained national attention; before fully committing to play baseball at Wake Forest University, Luke was also getting attention from schools such as Duke and Notre Dame. But he saw two things in Wake Forest that were different from the rest; the first was the program’s commitment.
“The number one reason as to why I committed there was definitely the coaching staff,” he said. “They made me feel at home the whole time when I went there to visit. They took me through the whole campus, which took five hours out of their Saturday night to be with me. It just made me feel at home right away. As soon as I stepped on campus, it just clicked that I knew this was the right spot to go to, and after that, when I was talking to other schools, it kind of didn’t matter because I knew I wanted to go to Wake Forest.”
The second reason as to why Luke preferred Wake Forest over other schools was their academics. Luke said that the academics there were “incredible” and added that he was most interested in the business schools.
The final thing that Luke added was that he wanted to thank all of his coaches and family for pushing him to the next level of success in his life.
“[I’d like to thank] all my coaches,” he said “not even just baseball coaches, but football and basketball as well. They’ve definitely helped me grow as a person. All of them have taught me different things, such as what to do in different situations.”
He added, “If it weren’t for my family, [then] I couldn’t be doing what I’m doing right now. Also all of my friends, too, as well as my brothers; they’ve all been super supportive.
Being such a young kid, Luke has a lot ahead of him, but he couldn’t be more excited to attend Wake Forest, play high school football and baseball for another three years, and also continue being a Rambler.
