Penn-Trafford grad Hunter DeStefano contributes to 2 men's sports at Carlow

Ask Val Pennington how senior Hunter DeStefano manages his schedule, and the normally erudite coach struggles to find an accurate explanation.

DeStefano, a Penn-Trafford grad, is a nursing major who carries a 3.9 GPA. He is in his fourth season as a member of the Carlow men’s basketball team, and he is in his third season as a member of the fledgling Celtics men’s volleyball team.

That’s not a misprint. DeStefano handles the rigors of a demanding major while playing two collegiate sports.

Oh, and he also has served as a resident assistant on campus.

Coach Pennington?

“I don’t know what kind of smoke and mirrors or what kind of witchcraft he has,” said Pennington, who has overseen the Carlow men’s volleyball team since its inception two seasons ago. “I don’t know how he’s got hours in the day. The only thing I can say is, it’s good to be in your 20s and energetic.

“Two hours of volleyball practice right after doing two hours of basketball practice after doing clinicals and a full day of classes. I don’t know when he sleeps. Or if he sleeps.”

But DeStefano has handled his dual role with aplomb, keeping on top of his academics while being a key member of both teams.

“The first two years, I have been fortunate that the basketball games ended before the volleyball games started,” he said. “A lot of nights, I had to double up on practices and stuff. It usually works out.

“The coaches have been very understanding. I’ve just made it work. There weren’t too many conflicts so far.”

Men’s basketball coach Tim Keefer was the one who convinced DeStefano to try basketball at Carlow after he had seen him playing both sports at Penn-Trafford.

Keefer said, at first, he seemed a little reluctant to play basketball in college, but the coach was confident DeStafano could help to the team. Even if that meant playing outside the paint at the “3” spot, which the 6-foot-3 DeStefano hadn’t done in high school.

The Celtics have struggled — they have won only five games since the start of the 2020-21 season — but DeStefano has had his share of highlights. In the 2021-22 season finale against Division II Fairmont State, DeStefano came off the bench to score 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting, including 3 of 6 from 3-point range. Earlier this season at Division I VMI, he scored 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range.

“His only problem is sometimes he’s too unselfish,” Keefer said, adding DeStefano is a two-year captain. “He’s one of our best defensive players also. A lot of times, he’s guarding a guy who’s 6-8, 6-9. He has a lot of humility. He doesn’t think he’s that good.”

Getting DeStefano to join the volleyball team took a little less convincing.

“I played in high school, and that was really fun. I really liked playing,” he said. “Then, my freshman year (at Carlow), they were talking about adding a team, and I said I was definitely interested. The next year, they formed it, and I was able to play both.”

Pennington said DeStefano was still fairly raw after playing only two seasons at Penn-Trafford. He was used as a middle blocker and did only “big guy” things for the Warriors: staying at the net, blocking, getting the occasional kill.

But in the Carlow volleyball team’s formative stages, numbers were low, so Pennington needed his players to be versatile. He endeavored to turn DeStefano into a six-rotation player. No longer would he be nailed in front of the net. Now he could serve, pass and hit from anywhere.

“He accepted that challenge, and for somebody who probably never had any expectation of carrying that kind of responsibility, he took to it right away,” Pennington said.

For his part, DeStefano was happy to get in on the ground floor of a new program and set the tone for its future.

“I think it’s great Carlow added a team,” he said. “I hope they can inspire other kids in the area to start playing. I think it’s a great thing that more boys are getting to try (volleyball) a little bit.

“Each year we’re getting stronger in certain aspects and definitely growing. I got to see it from the very first practice, so to see that go from not really getting a ton of kids who have volleyball experience to now having a bunch of kids on the roster who have a long volleyball background is great to see.”

When the volleyball schedule begins Jan. 14, DeStefano will have a full month when games for both sports overlap. But don’t think for a moment he will slack on one to save energy for the other.

Pennington said “he doesn’t take a second off,” whether in the classroom or on one of the two courts. Not only does he continue to be a valuable member of both teams, he has set a standard Pennington hopes others will follow.

“He raises the bar for everybody else,” Pennington said. “And I have a pretty high standard, but I would have to say his standard, he exceeds what I set for him, and I think it rubs off on everybody else.

“He sets the bar so high, it almost makes the other guys feel bad if they don’t try to keep up with that, but in a good way. … He’s got the most old-world, old-school work ethic that you just can’t help but appreciate and be impressed by.”