On Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025, North Penn seniors Christian Barnes, Jacob Nunn, Jase Hopwood, Kyle Bonner, Tyler Agriss and Brayden Underwood were recognized for committing to compete in baseball at the collegiate level.
Tyler Agriss – University of Scranton (Baseball)
Major: Business
Final list of colleges: Scranton, Catholic University, Elizabethtown, Washington College
Reasons for choosing Scranton: “I decided on Scranton because I really loved the campus. They also have a great business program, which is what I’m going to be studying, and I really love the coaches and the team.”
North Penn coach Kevin Manero: “I’ve told this story a million times, and he’s probably tired of hearing it - my first memory of Tyler was when he was a kid at baseball camp. We were taking the team picture one
day, and he was standing in the back row until he wasn’t anymore. He passed out in the middle of the team photo, and our trainer had to cart him off. He probably locked his knees under the hot sun for too long, but nevertheless, that’s how Tyler Agriss’ Knights experience started. Tyler’s was a unique situation because his older brother R.J. played for us, and so as R.J. was coming into the program, Tyler was a young kid watching him from the sidelines. And then Tyler got into our program and immediately struck me as one of the hardest workers you could ever hope for. The time he spent in the weight room on his own, the time he spent taking extra swings and asking questions - all that stuff was impressive.
“We took video of him swinging in the fall of his junior year, and when we showed him the video, the first thing he said was, ‘Oh my god, that swing looks so unathletic.” And he’s cerebral enough to know what adjustments he had to make. So, he came into his senior year ambitiously staring down the possibility of being our starting third baseman. We graduated our starting third baseman from the year before, and Tyler had put a lot of time in. This was going to be his year, and then he was stricken with the evil mononucleosis, and Tyler was not able to play his entire senior year. To a kid who has spent his entire life watching from the sidelines and then being in the uniform and not playing, that was very difficult. But except for maybe an occasional doctor’s appointment, I don’t believe Tyler missed one practice or team event. He was there the entire time. Last year when we lost the state final, in that game, Tyler’s role was simply a pinch runner, but the emotion on his face when we lost would have indicated that he was at the end of his career as a four-year starter. That’s how hard it hit him. And then when our season ended in a much different way this year, I saw the same Tyler Agriss - a kid who looked like he had just had the most important thing in the world taken from him. That’s how much Tyler loves baseball. And that’s how much he loves his pursuit of success in the North Penn program. And the thing he could have going for him is just a good healthy start to his college career, which all signs indicate that he will. When it comes to work ethic and desire and heart, he has all the intangibles to go there and compete. And the more I coach, the more I value those qualities beyond just mechanics. I think you need those extra qualities to be able to sustain yourself in this current college baseball environment, where rosters are constantly changing and the competitiveness level is through the roof, so I have no doubt about that for him.”
About Tyler:
Favorite color: Blue
Favorite food: Pasta
Favorite movie: Moneyball
Christian Barnes – La Salle University (Baseball)
Major: Finance
Reasons for choosing La Salle: “I thought they had a really good business school, and I liked the campus.”
North Penn coach Kevin Manero: “Christian came into our program as a freshman, and it took him a little while to cement his spot in the lineup, But there was no single bat that was more crucial to our state championship game run than Christian Barnes, who batted .500 in the postseason last year. Christian turned into a player last year that was every bit of a Division 1 athlete. The ground he covered in center field, the way he hit the ball, his at-bats - he was a force to be reckoned with in our lineup and anchored down center field in a way that just showed he had all the tools, and he always has had the tools. He’s strong, and the things he does in the weight room are impressive just from a physical standpoint. The way he can hit a baseball and the way he can run - he has every tool that a Division 1 player needs to have. With Christian, his ability to realize that success as a junior was pivotal to him. He definitely has the ability to succeed at a very high level with not only his gifts but also a physical work ethic that has put him in that realm that you don’t see very many high school athletes.”
About Christian:
Favorite color: Blue
Favorite food: Pizza
Favorite movie: Oceans 11
Kyle Bonner – Elizabethtown College (Baseball)
Major: Exercise Science with a pre-physical therapy track
Final list of colleges: Elizabethtown, Scranton, Misericordia, DeSales
Reasons for choosing Elizabethtown: “I ultimately chose Elizabethtown because they have a great exercise science program and a competitive baseball team, which I believe will prepare me for the future.”
North Penn coach Kevin Manero: “Over his time in the North Penn High School program, he was on the field, in the lineup, on the bench. He was leadoff hitter, starting center fielder all the way down to pinch runner, courtesy runner, pinch hitter. He did it all over the course of his time, and he would be the first one to admit that when he was in or out of the lineup that there was a reason for it, and he never complained about anything. He only would ask what types of things he should work on more. At practice, if we were going over situational things and I would ask a question like is often the case in this modern-day baseball player audience, there’d be a lot of crickets. But Kyle always knew why we were working on something, what we were working on and what the situation was. He was locked into every facet of the game regardless of his status in the lineup.”
About Kyle:
Favorite color: Blue
Favorite food: Wings
Favorite movie: Field of Dreams
Jase Hopwood – Ursinus College (Baseball)
Major: Finance
Final list of colleges: Ursinus, Arcadia, DeSales
Reasons for choosing Ursinus: “The reason I chose Ursinus was because the coaching staff built a culture that will allow me to continue to grow as a player and a person.”
North Penn coach Kevin Manero: “Jase started off his season this year in about as painfully awful a way as you can. When he was in the batter’s box at Wilson the week we came back from Florida, he took an
87-mile-an-hour fastball right to his face, and it didn’t deflect off anything. It hit him right in the face, and he went down like a ton of bricks. Our concern was that we had lost who we thought would be our starting catcher for a long time, but true to Jace’s gritty and tough character, he was back within just a matter of a couple of weeks.
“In this day and age, players don’t pick up the phone and call very much. It’s usually a text or whatever, but when my phone rang, it was Jase Hopwood. He had just come from the doctor, and the doctor told him that he just has to wear a mask, but there is no reason why he can’t go back to playing. It may have been one of the happiest emotions I’ve ever heard in the kid’s voice in my coaching career. He was just elated that he could play, and that’s something that doesn’t surprise me.
“Jase has three abilities: reliability, availability, and accountability. I never had to worry about Jase. I never had to worry about him off the field, and I never had to worry that he wouldn’t give us everything he had between the lines. He emerged into a very capable catcher and the kind of hitter that when he gets in the box, he doesn’t look like Mike Trout, but he can hit a baseball, and when he gets hot, it’s hard to stop him. I think the injury set him back this year a little bit. I think it might have affected him a little bit more than he had thought it would, but Jase is a tough, gritty kind of player. Also, he has a great personality – he’s quietly funny and can add a lot of levity to a bench. He’s the kind of kid that people just really like to be around, And I think that makes him a great teammate, and it makes him somebody who’s easy to root for.”
About Jase:
Favorite color: Blue
Favorite food: Wings
Favorite movie: Toy Story
Jacob Nunn – Indiana University of Pennsylvania (Baseball)
Major: Media/Communications
Final list of colleges: IUP, Holy Family, Penn State Harrisburg
Reasons for choosing IUP: “Ultimately, I chose IUP because I really liked the coaches and the environment on campus.”
North Penn coach Kevin Manero: “Jake Nunn was the winning pitcher in the district final last year. As a North Penn program, we’ve been lucky enough to win several state titles over the past fifteen years, and the one thing that has been our white whale has been another district title. We won three state titles since our last district title, so what Jake did last year when he threw a complete game against West Chester
Henderson to win a district title is simply one of the greatest feats in North Penn baseball history because it’s one of the hardest things to do. I’ve always said that winning a district title is a more grueling and difficult process oftentimes than winning a state title because it all comes down in states to matchups, but in the district playoffs, because we are the strongest district in the state, you are always going to have multiple tough matchups, and it’s hard to get to the end, and it’s hard to win at the end. But Jake pitched two games last year in districts that defined his career more than anything, and it’s that game against West Chester Henderson and also the game against Haverford that qualified us for states. Haverford was the number one seed. We went to their field, which is a very unique place to have to play. Anybody who’s been there knows what I am talking about, and it was a very highly touted team were facing, but Jake went out that game and pitched masterfully. And then in the district final, he repeated that performance.
“Jake also was an extremely hard worker and a kid who we gave the Dave Livezey Pride in the Program Award this year because he absolutely loves to play for the name on the front of his jersey. He was like that when he was a kid playing for Nor-Gwyn. In fact, there is even a little note that he wrote sometime back in his Nor-Gwyn career, where he talked about playing for the Legion team and playing for North Penn. It was something that always was a very important thing to him, which is cool because he really thinks team first a lot. And his personal work ethic combined with his desire to be part of something bigger than himself is a really nice combination. Jake gave us and North Penn some of our most successful moments on the field, And I believe, because of those qualities, he has a lot more successful moments ahead of him.”
About Jacob:
Favorite color: Blue
Favorite food: Sushi
Favorite movie: Draft Day
Brayden Underwood – Gwynedd Mercy University (Baseball)
Major: Management
Final list of colleges: Gwynedd Mercy, Northampton, Arcadia
Reasons for choosing Gwynedd Mercy: “I liked the school because of the culture and the amazing coaches.”
North Penn coach Kevin Manero: “Brayden had the opportunity to move around to a couple different spots in high school. He played some outfield, played some first base, and obviously, he’s a commodity as a left-handed hitter. Brayden also has a very quietly winning and funny personality. He can keep things light, but he also knows when to lock in. Brayden has a quality about him that you can tell that he wants to be very successful, and you can tell that he’s very hungry. At the same time, you can also crack that exterior and really find yourself in the midst of a tremendous dugout and locker room personality. He knows very much about what it takes to be successful, and he is hungry to be so as much as anybody. If he continues to get stronger, he does have that ability as a lanky left-handed hitter to be a good contributor at the college level. And I think that’s something he has in him. He’s the kind of kid that was just from day one always a pleasure to coach.”
About Brayden:
Favorite color: Blue
Favorite food: Wings
Favorite movie: Sandlot
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