Luke Pokrovsky (13) of Schalick during the Joe Hartmann Diamond Classic first round baseball game between Schalick and Haddonfield at Arthur P. Schalick High School in Pittsgrove, NJ on 5/1/25.

Schalick head coach Sean O’Brien has been spoiled for a decade.

He’s enjoyed a front row seat as everyone in South Jersey and beyond got to know the name Pokrovsky. Opposing coaches got especially acquainted with the name, often to their chagrin.

That’s why O’Brien hopes what’s ahead is just a brief hiatus - call it an intermission - for his program at the school of 360 students in Salem County.

A Pokrovsky has been at the heart of Schalick’s baseball lineup every year since 2016. It started with Staus, carried over to Jarrett and ended with Luke in 2025.

Luke Pokrovsky (13) of Schalick during the Joe Hartmann Diamond Classic first round baseball game between Schalick and Haddonfield at Arthur P. Schalick High School in Pittsgrove, NJ on 5/1/25.

Three brothers suiting up for the same program isn’t a rarity, but for each to play at the consistently high level the Pokrovsky trio did certainly is.

The Pokrovsky brothers were a force in South Jersey baseball and played a combined 11 seasons, with Jarrett (and the rest of New Jersey) missing the 2020 campaign because of COVID. They amassed 362 hits, 295 RBIs and 308 runs scored. They also owned a collective .446 average at the plate.

“Growing up, it all comes from my dad teaching us all the stuff he knew,” Staus said. “And then obviously having three younger brothers that are all within close enough (age) range, we just basically built off each other.”

Schalick's Jarrett Pokrovsky (6) hits a home run as his 100th career hit in Clayton, NJ on Monday, May 9, 2022.

Staus, Class of 2019, laid the foundation of what was to come with 105 career hits and 100 RBIs. As a catcher, he worked with both Jarrett and Luke, who went on to thrive on the bump at Schalick.

Jarrett, Class of 2022, recorded 118 hits, averaging 39.3 per season, drove in 80 runs and scored 121 times. He also boasted a .494 career average and hit .613 as a junior with 46 knocks in 2021. On the hill, he owned a 2.42 career ERA in 110 innings with 139 strikeouts.

Luke, Class of 2025, set out to top all of that.

“It just basically (gave) me motivation to go out and beat them as much as possible, because (Coach O’Brien) always brings up how Jarrett had a high batting average or something like that,” Luke said. “That gives you motivation to try to beat him. It’s pretty cool to have one of us in there for 10 years.”

Luke played with Jarrett in rec baseball when they were eight and 12 years old, respectively, but their reunion in 2022 was a bit more meaningful. Jarrett was in the final season of his terrific high school career and Luke was just starting his.

Luke had a 2.32 ERA in 48 1/3 innings, with 71 punchouts in his freshman season and hit .354 with 29 hits and 26 RBIs.

“I did have a lot of pressure coming into freshman year,” Luke said. “My brother was a senior at the time. He was like, ‘You gotta beat out some of these seniors if you want to start playing varsity.’ I started working more, eventually beat out the one senior that I had to beat out, which I really enjoy.”

Schalick's Jarrett Pokrovsky (6) throws to first in Clayton, NJ on Monday, May 9, 2022.

That senior year, Jarrett put up a .477 average, with 41 hits, 31 RBIs and 40 runs scored, to go with 47 strikeouts and a 3.87 ERA in 34 1/3 innings. It was a full-circle moment, as he also played with Staus during the 2019 season.

Staus went out with his best season, notching 33 hits, 32 runs scored and a career-high 46 RBIs that year. Jarrett allowed just nine earned runs in 36 innings, had 31 hits and scored 35 runs.

“I would do that again if I had the chance,” Staus said. “That was probably one of the best experiences ever in the 16, 17 years I played.”

“When I made a (pitching) mistake, (Staus) definitely let me hear it,” added Jarrett.

Jarrett was lucky enough to battle with both of his brothers in high-stakes matchups, too.

In 2019, Schalick went 17-6 and reached the South Jersey, Group 1 final. In 2022, Schalick was one win away from a return trip to the sectional final but fell in the semis.

Schalick's Staus Pokrovsky (13) throws the ball pack to the pitcher against Maple Shade in a South Jersey, Group 1 semifinal baseball game, Wednesday, May 29, 2019. Joe Warner | For NJ Advance Media

“To be able to actually play competitively and play high school baseball together, me and Staus went out and we made a good run for the South Jersey championship - and then same thing with Luke,” Jarrett said. “Not many people can say they did that. It was pretty special.”

He then added, “We butt heads, which is normal because we’re brothers, but it was a really fun time. It was great.”

Luke built off of that strong debut in 2022 and became the third member of the family in the 100-hit club at the end of his junior season. As a senior this spring, he met Staus in the 100-RBI club in early May. Down the stretch, Luke also eclipsed 100 runs scored to join Jarrett.

Staus (left), Jarrett (center) and Luke (right) Pokrovsky all played for Schalick over a 10-year period and had outstanding careers.

Luke is the only one of the three brothers to hit the century mark in each of those three categories. Jarrett would’ve likely joined him but was 20 RBIs short thanks to missing a full season, though he averaged 26.7 per year in his career.

Luke had the decisive edge on the mound, though.

He was one of seven players to record over 100 strikeouts this season. The 105 punchouts ballooned his career total to 362, which led all active players in the state.

“I used to be really hard on him when he didn’t take baseball seriously, when he was still growing up and trying out new things,” Jarrett said. “But I saw the potential in him when he was growing up. He was always the taller kid, the lankier kid. I knew he had what it took to be a pitcher.”

Luke finished his career allowing just 17 earned runs across 109 1/3 innings with 227 strikeouts between his junior and senior seasons. As his career progressed, he gained about 10 miles per hour on his fastball and is now regularly topping around 90.

“He made that transition his junior year to where he was attacking hitters more, where he wasn’t trying to strike everybody out, where he was kind of just learning to pitch more consistently,” O’Brien said. “(He) realized that when you throw more strikes and you’re getting weak contact, you go deeper in the games.”

Having a veteran catcher in the family is a blessing, too, especially early on when Staus helped Luke polish what became one of his biggest weapons.

“Just because he was a catcher, he could see movement on the actual ball,” Luke said. “He caught a lot of pitchers. He’s seen their grips before. So he always kept trying to work with me with my change-up and eventually got it to work nice.”

“Playing college definitely helps a lot. I was able to learn stuff at school that I could teach him when I came home during breaks, stuff that would get him ready to go to college,” added Staus.

Staus’ leadership was something that trickled down to both Jarrett and Luke. He called games behind the plate for four years.

Whenever he talked, people listened.

“He played a big role for me,” Jarrett said. “Coming in, playing as a freshman, it’s a little intimidating, but obviously, I had him to lean on. He took me under his wing and just showed me the way to be on the field and off the field and how to be a good teammate. I really took that and I tried to teach the same to Luke.”

Staus moved on to play baseball at Seton Hall. Jarrett played at the University of Pennsylvania, after passing the torch to Luke. Luke is committed to pitch at the University of Pennsylvania, so a second reunion with Jarrett is in the cards.

This spring, Luke guided Schalick to a sectional title and berth in the Group 1 semifinals before a loss to Middlesex, the eventual state champion. His departure will create a big hole at the heart of Schalick’s lineup next year, but O’Brien enjoyed the ride the entire way.

After all, he got to coach all three brothers.

“It’s been awesome. One, they’re talented kids, super talented, but they’re really hard-working. Each year they came back better and better,” he said.

It’s not the end of the Pokrovskys’ run at Schalick. Instead, it’s just a two-year hiatus, a brief intermission.

There are still two younger brothers who haven’t started school yet and a sister, who is in seventh grade.

Soon, another wave of Pokrovskys will wreak havoc on the baseball and softball diamonds in Salem County yet again.

“It was a fun time,” Jarrett said. “You always wish you can go back to it, but looking back now, you’re just glad it happened.”

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