2026 Morning Call all-area baseball: Bangor's Panczer is ambassador of the year
Chayse Panczer is not only a good spokesperson for his Bangor baseball team and Bangor Area High School, but he also could be public relations person for the entire community.
“I’m genuinely proud to be from Bangor,” Panczer, who just completed his junior year, said. “Now, it helps, obviously, with my parents both growing up here and my dad working for the school. But I am proud with everything I do to be a part of the community and represent my school and wear the Bangor uniform.”
As a three-sport athlete who also plays soccer and basketball, Panczer wears a lot of different Slaters uniforms and he’s a member of six different clubs or school organizations.
Few people are more involved in their school and represent it better than Panczer, who is The Morning Call’s Ambassador of the Year for the 2026 scholastic baseball season.
Panczer was the Slaters’ starting center fielder and batted second in the order. As a junior, he hit .380 with 30 hits, 22 RBIs, 14 runs, 10 walks and struck out just seven times in 89 plate appearances.
Defensively, he didn’t have an error in 36 total chances.
But it was the intangibles that made Panczer a valuable part of a team that went 12-11 and reached the Colonial League semifinals.
“Every year, I say that good teams are coach-led, but the best teams are player-led,” said Bangor baseball coach Anthony Martino. “When you have a group of kids that can manage those little behind-the-scenes that coaches don’t see every day, it’s a huge asset for any baseball program. I’m grateful to have Chayse in that role.”
“He’s a guy that we not only rely on from a baseball perspective, but a guy I can rely on to help me get other things done,” Martino added. “A big thing at Bangor for example is that the kids seem to want to wear a different jersey every day. Chayse helps with things like that and much more.”
Panczer’s well-rounded career has not only been recognized by Bangor, but also by the PIAA.
He was one of 16 student-athletes from across the state chosen to be a PIAA student ambassador and one of just two from District 11. Marian Catholic’s Brooke Hannis-Miskar was the other D11 selection and Panczer and her will represent the PIAA at the 2026 National Federation of State High School Association’s (NFHS) national student leadership summit in Indianapolis from July 16-19.
The students are chosen based on an application and review process that evaluates leadership, academic achievement and commitment to service and the summit brings together more than 200 students from across the country and internationally with the focus on collaboration and discussions aimed at strengthening student leadership within schools and communities.
“The PIAA picks up the tab to fly out these kids to Indianapolis for a few days and it’s really a great experience for the kids,” said Steve Panczer, Chayse’s father, who is also the Bangor athletic director and the District 11 chairman. “I’m super happy that Chayse was selected. There was an extensive form and document that needed to be filled out for this with references included. I’m super proud of Chayse for the way he carries himself on and off the field.”
Martino said that representing Bangor well in all aspects is an important part of the baseball program.
“We try to make sure the kids understand that the way you carry yourself as a person is just as important as the way you go about things on the field,” Martino said. “We want our players to grow and develop and grow into productive young adults. Chayse highlights the importance of the things that we talk about.”
In an age in which social media makes anonymity next to impossible and everyone seeks negative clickbait, no one can get away with anything, at least not for long.
Being the son of the school’s athletic director and the District 11 chairman adds an extra sense of scrutiny to everything Panczer does. He doesn’t shy away from that extra layer of attention.
“As a three-sport athlete, you have to go through a lot and show up a lot and you have to try your best to achieve and succeed in school,” Panczer said. “But being a three-sport athlete means I am fortunate enough to be around some great leaders like Jason Marcantonis on our basketball team and Jaxson Kreider on our baseball and we have some great guys on our soccer team. The impact those have had on me has helped me see the value of leadership.”
Panczer remembers being posterized by a dunk made my Catasauqua’s Aalani Nix during a Colonial League basketball game, a clip that went viral.
“Aalani’s a great guy and I’ve talked to him about it, but that was no fun,” Panczer said. “But when you have guys that can help you come back from something like that you can come back from anything. Whether you’re failing your calculus class or getting dunked on in a basketball game, you learn to bounce back. I have had guys help me understand that you can come back from anything.”
Panczer is excited to come back for his senior year when the Slaters baseball team is expected to be a top contender in the league and district.
He said that while he enjoys playing soccer the most, he knows baseball will likely be the sport he plays in college. Wherever he goes, he’ll take a piece of Bangor and Slater pride with him.
His parents, Steve and Lauren, and his younger sisters, Ella and Elyse, have the same sense of community camaraderie.
“Here at Bangor we’re kind of in the middle of nowhere and a lot of my friends talk about how they can’t wait to get out of here,” Panczer said. “But not me. I will probably get out of here for college, but I envision myself living in Bangor for most of the rest of my life. It’s different for me because I am so involved in everything. I love being a part of it all, and I wish everyone could be so involved. Some people think there’s nothing to do, but there’s plenty to do. You just have to figure things out and make the most out of it.”
Past Morning Call baseball ambassadors
2021: Braden Waller, Emmaus
2022: Ethan Sodl, Stroudsburg
2023: Cameron Frantz, Freedom
2024: Noah Gyauch-Quirk, Liberty
2025: Chase Walker, Freedom
Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.
This story was originally published July 3, 2026 at 7:04 AM.