BRADENTON, Fla. — In a Channel 11 exclusive, sports anchor Shelby Cassesse went one-on-one with Pirates pitching phenom Paul Skenes. She traveled to Bradenton, Florida for Pirates spring training just to interview Skenes and find out what make him tick. It’s one of his first local sit-down interviews since coming to Pittsburgh.
From first pick to the MLB draft, All-Star Rookie of the Year and one of baseball’s biggest stars, he told us his goal to be present and win every single day.
The 22-year-old told us about his decision to leave the Air Force Academy, his goals for this season, and how his girlfriend, LSU gymnast Livvy Dunn helped him.
First and foremost, he’s happy to be in Pittsburgh and appreciates how the city has embraced him.
“It’s been awesome. It’s a great city, it’s a sport city,” Skenes said. “I like to think they embrace winners, and they embrace winning. So that’s the goal to bring to the city. Obviously, what we had last year was really cool. I think this year is going to build on what we had last year.”
Skenes took an interesting route to his Major League career. In high school, he had one goal to join the military. He pitched for the Air Force Academy for two years before having to make a major decision about baseball.
“I went to the Air Force with the intention of serving in the military. And there, it’s kind of one thing or the other. So, my sophomore year it was like, alright, I’m kind of at a decision point and now is when I get one shot to play baseball. I’ve got a bunch of opportunities to serve in the military,” Skenes said.
Skenes has dated LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne since 2023. They met through mutual friends as student-athletes at the college. Skenes frequently attends her gymnastics meets. Dunne spent the summer in Pittsburgh and the city embraced her as well.
Dunne also was a pioneer in the NIL field in college athletics. She has become one of the highest-paid female college athletes in history, with an estimated NIL value of $4.2 million.
“She’s made me better in that aspect. She’s dealt with the attention and notoriety and that kind of thing longer than I have. Having her as it came up for me was really good because it’s kind of one of those things where you don’t know how to tell someone how to do it, but you can show them how to do it. And she showed me how to do it from a very, very early point on in my career,” Skene said.
Back on the field, Pirates GM Ben Cherington told reporters he was looking at Skenes to set the standard for this season, not just in his play, but how he carries himself. Skenes said he’s up to the challenge.
“It starts with me. It starts with Mitch. It starts with Jared. It starts on an individual level, and we build momentum to get other guys on board and just continue to raise the bar,” Skenes stressed. “That’s the kind of way I think we’re all looking at it. It starts with the work we’re doing here every day. We’re doing it together. We have to buy in.
As for what is behind his love and drive for baseball year in and year out, Skenes stressed it was all in the approach, and all about winning.
“You can win the day in spring training. And can you continue to win? You win one day; you continue to win. You win. The next, you win. The next, you continue to win days and that’s how to create a team that can win the division and make the playoffs and go to the world series and all that and just chasing that is what keeps me coming back,” Skenes said.
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