Mar 26, 2026 By Jerin Steele 4 min read

Sebastian Shulsky flew under the radar for a while during his junior season at Canon-McMillan.

That was until a game at Norwin last year.

College coaches were not there to see him pitch. They came to watch a player from Norwin, Caden Sirvich, but Shulsky opened some eyes by pitching well with 10 strikeouts in a 4-3 win.

Shortly after he received a phone call from University of Cincinnati coaches.

“I had a good day and I wasn’t even hitting 90 miles per hour on the gun,” Shulsky said. “The (Cincinnati) coaches called me right away after that game and wanted me to go on a visit.”

Shulsky showed them he can pitch and that day changed his life as he ended up signing with Cincinnati.

He isn’t sneaking up on anybody this year and paired with his best friend M.J. Maruschak at the top of the rotation the Big Macs have high expectations.

Shulsky had a 1.70 ERA last season and Maruchak finished with a 1.28 ERA.

The Big Macs are 5-0 in the early going and begin section play next week against Woodland Hills.

“It’s awesome and not too many teams can say that they have what we have,” Maruschak said. “I can put my trust in him in game one and he can put trust in me in game two. We’re going to go out there and get a ‘W’.”

The Big Macs made it to the WPIAL Class 6A semifinals last year where they lost to Seneca Valley, 4-0.

Maruschak is also a Division I recruit. He signed with Winthrop. Originally, he was committed to Ohio, but after a coaching change there he opened up his recruitment and found a new home.

“I had a great summer and got to meet the Winthrop staff and went down there and performed well,” Maruschak said. “I fell in love with the campus and they gave me a shot. I’m more than grateful for the opportunity. I committed there in the fall and it’s one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life.”

Having a pair of Division I arms to rely on is a huge plus for Canon-McMillan coach Brendan Steele.

“It’s a blessing,” Steele said. “I’ve been very fortunate since I’ve been here to have a strong pitching staff. That starts with our pitching coach Pat Gannon. He has been around the game a while and played at the collegiate level. As soon as he came in, he set a precedent. He gets those guys right and they listen to him.

“I’m thankful to have M.J. and Seb at the top and Matthew Kocan pitched a great game (Tuesday) as our potential No. 3 and we’ll have a bullpen of seven or eight guys that can give us innings if we need them.”

Shulsky and Maruschak are not the only college commitments on the Big Macs. Junior outfielder Troy Stimpson is committed to Pitt. Blake Simmons has signed to play at Slippery Rock and several others are continuing their careers at Division III schools Grove City, Waynesburg and Washington & Jefferson.

Maruschak said there’s a good vibe around the team.

“With the brotherhood we have, the chemistry is much different than what we’ve had in our four years here,” Maruschak said. “We can really rely on each other.”

While the Big Macs are enjoying a great start, they aren’t getting ahead of themselves. They know it’s a long way to go and have acknowledged there’s room for improvement. But that’s a welcomed challenge.

“We say after every game and practice that we’re still not at our best yet,” Maruschak said. “Seb and I are two great pitchers and we feel like we can go out and dominate, but there’s so many little mechanical cues and so many little things to work on. We’re by no means close to our prime yet. You don’t want to peak in March. By the time we get to the end of April we’re going to be at our best.”

Shulsky and Maruschak both believe with the talent they have, they can win Canon-McMillan’s first WPIAL baseball title since 2018.

“We’re undefeated, but this isn’t WPIAL championship baseball,” Shulsky said. “We’ve got a long way to go, but I can promise you by the time playoffs come around we will be the best team in Class 6A.”