Parkland High School Baseball

Chris Rabasco, Parkland’s junior shortstop and right-handed pitcher, has verbally committed to attend and play baseball at the University of Pennsylvania.  The Quakers compete in the Division I Ivy League Conference under head coach John Yurkow.  With his current junior year in progress and next year’s senior season to look forward to, Rabasco will join the Quakers in the 2015-2016 academic year.  Chris plans to major in one of the science or business fields. 

Rabasco was recruited to play baseball by several schools, including LaSalle, Virginia, Penn State, Virginia Commonwealth University, Fairfield, St. Johns, Pitt, Stony Brook, and Ivy League schools.  UPenn, Columbia University and William & Mary were the three schools that Chris put on the top of his list after visiting all three schools last fall and spending a day with each school’s coaching staff and players.  “All three schools are top level academic schools and they all have beautiful campuses and very nice athletic facilities,” said Rabasco. 

It was his visit to UPenn that made it clear it was the school for him.  UPenn recruited Rabasco as a two-way player which was another important factor in Chris’ decision.  “UPenn offers the ideal situation for me where I will get one of the best educations that this country has to offer, the ability to be a position player and pitcher, and I will have the opportunity to be an impact player as a freshman.”  The Ivy League recruits on a different timeline compared to other schools due to the stringent academic requirements, so it was a long wait for Chris to get the good news from Coach Santello.  “I enjoyed my interactions with Coach Santello over the past several months and I am looking forward to playing for the Quakers and their coaching staff.”