Baseball recruits typically verbally commit at younger ages compared to their football or basketball counterparts.
Sophomore John Lash has been getting recruited by NC State and countless other baseball programs since middle school, but his recruitment has taken a different path. Lash loves basketball and is a standout in both sports for Charlotte (N.C.) Christian, but he also had Tommy John surgery last summer, which has altered his prep career.
“I’m just trying to make a name for myself [in hoops],” said Lash, 16. “With baseball, people know me for that. On the basketball court, this is what I love to do. I’m just trying to make a statement of who I am.
“I had my arm injury a year and a half ago. I had a mis-diagnosis on my elbow. I recovered from it and played my basketball season [as a freshman], but then I came back and found out that I needed surgery for Tommy John.”
Lash missed his freshman year of baseball, and this past summer in both baseball and basketball.
“It took a big toll on me, and mentally not being out there and on the floor, but I’ve come back in basketball,” Lash said. “I had my surgery last July. It took 4 1/2 months [to play hoops again].”
The 6-foot-6, 220-pound Lash was on the fast track in baseball, and could have been called a prodigy of sorts. Lash enjoys hitting and playing first base, but was more well known for his pitching.
“Baseball is where I made a name for myself first,” Lash said. “It happened a year and a half ago, and I want that same thing in basketball too, but baseball is a huge side of me as well.”
Getting back to throwing a baseball is an important goal and Lash has been attacking his rehabilitation. Colleges will be waiting.
“I was throwing 91 in a game about a year and a half ago at 14 years old,” said Lash, a lefty. “It’s been a while since I’ve been on the mound.
“TCU was the very first phone call I had, and then after that the offers started to slide in from the top teams in the country. Duke was the first in-state school to legit offer me [at 14]. NC State was another. It started real fast, and then expanded to the SEC.
“I definitely want to stay somewhere around here for sure.”
Lash comes from a very athletic family. His older brother Peter Lash Jr. is playing basketball at Nebraska Wesleyan, and his older sister is playing rugby at Colby College in Maine.
Lash’s father, Peter Lash Sr., was in the 1984 and 1988 Olympics for hand ball, and his mother does ironman competitions. His grandfather Ken Lester played football and baseball at South Carolina. He also became a standout in handball.
Lash has emerged on the hard wood this season, averaging 24.5 points and 14.0 rebounds per game for 10-18 Charlotte Christian. He brings an old school style of game, working inside the three-point line and is effective in post ups. He has played with CP3 traveling team in the past.
“It has always been in me to try and be efficient,” Lash said. “Just help my team the best way I can. That is getting high percentage shots and to finish those to help my team win.”
Lash served notice when he dropped 50 points in a 71-63 loss against Martinez (Ga.) Augusta Christian at the Carolina’s Challenge Showcase on Dec. 27, 2022, in Columbia, S.C.
“[Getting 50] was great,” Lash said. “Obviously, the shots were falling for me that day, and my teammates were helping me get the ball. I was just given positions to where I can score.”
Lash has scored at least 30 points in seven games this season, and has had a double-double for points and rebounds in 27 of 28 games. Charlotte Christian is still alive in the NCISAA 4A playoffs, with a game tonight at Charlotte Country Day School.
“It starts with our coaching staff and we still have the coach that coached Steph Curry,” Lash said. “There are so many players that have played at Charlotte Christian. Every single time I go out there, I am reminded of those guys [past great players]. I just go out there and play hard.”
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