Paul Skenes credits his family making him the baseball player he is today

A lot of people help make Paul Skenes who he is, both on and off the field.

In an exclusive interview with Channel 11′s Shelby Cassesse, Skenes credits his family with his early love of baseball.

“They’ve always been fans on both my mom and my dad’s side. So that was kind of the first sport that they introduced to me first. I just fell in love with it and been doing it ever since,” he said. “We’d play whiffle ball at my grandparents’ house. My dad would throw to me every day, play catch with me every day, hit me ground balls, fly balls.”

Skenes tells Channel 11 that his family and Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout were his biggest baseball influences growing up outside of Anaheim.

When Pirates fans see Skenes calm and collected on the mound, they can partly thank his parents for that too.

“You look at my dad during the games, I think you’ll see a lot of his characteristics in how he watches,” Skenes said. “I think you’ll see a lot of that in me.”

Skenes also credits two very influential years at the Air Force Academy, specifically his coaches. Just a few years removed, he already appreciates the tough lessons.

“I scored like a 35% on my first organic chemistry test at Air Force, and when I get to the field, our test scores are posted on the locker room door,” he said. “That’s because of our head coach and our coaching staff who decided that this is important. This is what we’re going to pay attention to, and we’re going to hold you accountable to it.”

Even the troubles in organic chemistry helped shape the cold-blooded ace taking baseball by storm, but behind the exterior is a devoted boyfriend.

Skenes is dating LSU gymnast and NIL trailblazer Livvy Dunne. She gives her 8 million TikTok followers an inside look at one of the biggest power couples in sports.

“She’s present, which we both need to be, frankly. She’s helped me do that. She’s helped me think about baseball when I need to and not think about it when I don’t need to,” Skenes said.

While Pittsburgh has certainly embraced them, they quickly discovered what makes the city special.

Before the Pirates drafted Skenes, he hadn’t been to Pittsburgh. Now, his new home is shaping the next phase of his incredible journey.

“It’s a gritty, blue-collar city,” he said. “You can kind of see that in the people that show up to the games and that kind of thing. It’s just a different character of fan. I like it a lot,” he said.

Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW

©2025 Cox Media Group