FROM THE NEST | SUMMER 2024 | 41 What made you decide to come to Lehigh? Because the rest of my family is back in Ghana, I needed a host family when I moved here. My host dad actually went to Lehigh. Doing my college search junior year of high school, I had all these schools I was talking to and Lehigh was one of them. I didn’t really know a lot about Lehigh at that time. My host dad was like, ‘Oh, do you want to go play pickup soccer?’ He didn’t tell me it was a Lehigh ID camp. So we came here. … I spoke to [Lehigh Head] Coach [Dean] Koski, and he’s like, ‘We really like you as a player, would you want to come here for college? We want to make you an offer on the spot.’ I was like, ‘Wait, what?’ I asked my host dad why he didn't tell me this was an ID camp. And he’s like, ‘I just wanted you to feel free and just have fun. I know you play well when you have fun.’ He just wanted to try to take that pressure off of me. You’re number 10. Why? Because [Lionel] Messi wears number 10. What's one fact people may not know about you? I speak five languages. Which languages? I speak English, French, a little bit of Spanish and the rest are more like local dialects in Ghana. Growing up you have to learn to communicate with different people because there are so many ethnic groups in Ghana. —Stephen Gross Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, growing up a Phillies fan and then attending Lehigh, there may not have been a better place for Mason Black to make his Major League Baseball debut than Philadelphia. As fate would have it, that’s where he broke into the majors with the San Francisco Giants, opposite one of baseball’s best, Zack Wheeler, on May 6, 2024. He began with a perfect first inning, which included strikeouts of J.T. Realmuto and Bryce Harper, and retired eight of the first nine batters he faced. Black’s day ended with one out in the fifth inning, allowing five runs on eight hits, walking three and striking out four. With less than 24 hours’ notice of his call-up, the location allowed a contingent of more than 100 friends, family, former teammates and members of the Lehigh community to attend. Black is the second Lehigh pitcher in as many years to make his major league debut. Levi Stoudt’s first MLB appearance came April 19, 2023, with the Cincinnati Reds.—Stephen Gross BASEBALL | ALUMNI Giant Debut Mason Black is the second Lehigh pitcher to make his Major League Baseball debut in the past two seasons. LACROSSE FOUR-TIME CHAMPS The Lehigh men’s lacrosse team earned the program’s fourth Patriot League Championship, and first since 2013, rallying to defeat Boston University 11-10 on May 5, 2024. Trailing 10-7, they scored the game’s final four goals and held the Terriers scoreless for nearly 15 minutes to end the contest and earn an automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament. A week later, the No. 17 Mountain Hawks fell 13-10 to No. 3 Johns Hopkins in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. It was their fourth appearance; they most recently made the tourney in 2021.—Stephen Gross JUST THE SECOND STUDENT-ATHLETE FROM GHANA TO EVER PLAY IN PROGRAM HISTORY, PERRY KINGSON ’25 IS HOPING TO WIN A PATRIOT LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP BEFORE HE GRADUATES. MITCHELL LEFF CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES / MATT SMITH
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