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Backspin: Former Lebanon star hangs up cleats to pursue law degree

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Updated 3:09 PM Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Tyler Pritchard was the consummate student-athlete while at Lebanon High. An all-star in three sports, Pritchard also carried a 4.0 grade point average. Now, he has hung up his cleats to pursue a law degree.

Varsity days

Few athletes from Lebanon can equal Pritchard’s success.

All-league in football, basketball and baseball, Pritchard quarterbacked the last Warrior team to reach the playoffs. As the senior ace of the pitching staff, he led Lebanon to its first MML baseball crown in 14 years and was named to the Mizuno All-Ohio team.

And, he just happens to be the all-time leading scorer in Lebanon varsity boys basketball history.

“I look back on my days at Lebanon fondly,” Pritchard said. “It was nice to get to play every sport that I wanted to play. We had a lot of success. It was a lot of fun.”

Pritchard accepted a full baseball scholarship from Ball State University. He cracked the Cardinals’ starting rotation as a freshman and never left.

“It’s nice to play against the improved, individualized skill level of D-I competition,” Pritchard said. “But there’s also something to getting to play all three sports in a year. I missed getting to play football and basketball, but I have no regrets about my decision to pursue baseball at Ball State.”

Today

After graduating from Ball State — where he was named to the All-Mid American Conference Academic team his senior year — Pritchard was offered a minor league contract in the Independent League.

Instead, he accepted a scholarship to attend law school at the University of Cincinnati.

“I didn’t get drafted and my options were play in the minors for $600 every two weeks or get law school paid for at UC,” Pritchard said. “Furthering my education just made more sense. It’s time to start the next phase of my life.”

Pritchard still plays in flag football, intramural basketball and adult softball leagues. Last week, he coached the Lebanon junior varsity team during summer league play.

“I have the time and I have the knowledge, so why not pass it on?” Pritchard said.

Quotable

“Anytime I hear there’s a good game somewhere, I try to go. I still play as much as I can. When you play something every day your whole life, it’s not easy to just stop playing.” — Pritchard.

— Scott Hayes , Staff Writer

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