Lincoln’s Prachniak wins second Div. II World Series title
2000 graduate has led West Chester to D-II World Series titles in 2012, 2017
With two NCAA Division II World Series titles in his own personal trophy case, Lincoln’s own Jad Prachniak has carved out an impressive niche as head coach of the West Chester University baseball program.
The biggest takeaway from the Golden Rams’ 2017 championship run, which culminated with a 5-2 win over UC San Diego last Sunday? It helped Prachniak lend even more appreciation the World Series feat that West Chester accomplished back in 2012. The 2012 crown was a glorious capper to Prachniak’s first season in the dugout at the Pennsylvania-based school.
The four seasons inbetween season-ending jubilant pig piles on the mound taught Prachniak plenty. From 2013-16, West Chester had several teams that ranged from good to very good. The Golden Rams may have not taken up prominent space in the center of the D-II college baseball universe, yet Prachniak understood that not every season is going to have a championship asterisk next to it. To him, that was perfectly acceptable and fine.
“At the D-II collegiate level, teams are always adding and subtracting. There’s also 300 programs. I recognize how challenging it is,” Prachniak said when reached by phone earlier this week.
“I wasn’t anticipating, ‘This is what you do every year.’ I knew it was a rarity to get to the World Series and win it all,” Prachniak said about the pressure of living up to expectations following West Chester’s 2012 crown. “I didn’t want to put all the stock in if we didn’t win a national title, the season is a disappointment. I didn’t think that was fair to the program or the kids.
“I wasn’t anticipating, ‘This is what you do every year.’ I knew it was a rarity to get to the World Series and win it all.”
– Lincoln’s Jad Prachniak
“I certainly want the bar to be raised. I think that it’s good to have that goal to win a national championship, but I want to enjoy every step of the way … getting to a conference tournament and a regional tournament. Don’t get caught up in winning it all.”
Every head coach like Prachniak, who is fortunate enough to earn the hard-fought distinction as the last team standing, is always asked if he saw this coming. Was there a moment that arose during the regular season that made Prachniak a believer that West Chester could make a legitimate run at this?
A 2000 graduate of Lincoln High School who also played baseball for the University of Rhode Island, Prachniak referenced a team meeting that took place two weeks into school last September. Fall ball was about to start, meaning there was no time like the present for Prachniak to set the tone for a 2017 campaign that featured an eye-popping 44-11 record.
“The very first thing we talked about was getting to the World Series. I put that in front of them not as a pipedream, but as a possibility based on the group we had,” he said. “There’s a lot of things that are going to lead up to that point, but right from the start of fall ball practice, I wanted that seed planted.
“I thought it was a legitimate goal for a group that could handle postseason play.”
With a number of holdovers back from the 2016 West Chester group that went 27-15 and lost in the NCAA regionals plus the infusion of promising transfers and freshmen, the Golden Rams encountered very few speed bumps prior to falling to Mercyhurst in the semifinals of last month’s conference tournament. West Chester got another crack at Mercyhurst with a spot in the NCAA Atlantic Regional on the line and Prachniak’s Golden Eagles came through with an 8-4 victory.
West Chester went 8-0 in the NCAA playoffs and won half its games by three runs or fewer. If preparation is nine-tenths of the battle, Prachniak placed his players in the ultimate position to succeed.
“I want to be super consistent and have focused effort regardless of the game situation. The scoreboard should never dictate how we look as a team,”
Prachniak said when asked about his coaching philosophy, one he should perhaps consider having patented based on his track record.
“I rarely raise my voice and I’ll be constructive with my coaching stuff, but I try to give as much information without overdoing it. I want to coach the guys and give them information, but I try to find that balance of trying to put not too much in front of them just so they can free themselves up to go play.
Along those lines, Prachniak – a three-time recipient of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Baseball East Coach of the Year laurel – acknowledged that pushing the right buttons as a head coach is “definitely a big piece to the puzzle. The players are the ones who are performing, making the pitches, having the at-bats, and making the plays defensively. It’s basically about getting them comfortable in all sorts of different situations.
“There’s coaching that happens on game days, but it’s about them performing the skills they’ve practiced,” he added.
Prachniak laughed when it was suggested West Chester should strongly consider erecting a statue of him outside the school’s baseball stadium. One thing is abundantly clear: this 35-year-old former Lion is quite content with his Pennsylvania surroundings. His future wife Kelly was working in West Chester’s athletic department when he was handed the keys to the baseball program in the summer of 2011. Jad and Kelly were married last June.
“It does feel like home now,” Prachniak said. “I like the area, you can recruit really good kids, and win at national level. There are a ton of positives. Everything that made the job exciting in 2011 has followed through on all those things.”
It sure doesn’t sound like Prachniak has any intention of stepping away from the winning culture that he’s worked so hard to foster at West Chester anytime soon.
“I try not to get caught up in the big picture of ‘I won this game, what does it mean for my career?’” Prachniak said. “I really try to stay grounded with where I’m at right now.”