Josh Pratt, one of the state’s top basketball players, transfers from Aliquippa to Lincoln Park

Josh Pratt could win state player of the year honors for the third year in a row this upcoming season, only it won’t be at Aliquippa.

Pratt, one of the state’s top rising senior basketball players, and his brother, rising sophomore Jeremiah Pratt, transferred to Lincoln Park, Lincoln Park coach and athletic director Mike Bariski confirmed Thursday night.

It’s a major move in the world of WPIAL basketball, as Pratt arguably will be the best returning player in the district for the 2025-26 season. Pratt is a 6-foot-2 guard who averaged 22.2 points per game last season while helping Aliquippa reach the WPIAL final for the third year in a row and the PIAA semifinals for the fourth consecutive year. He led the Quips to WPIAL and PIAA titles in 2024 when he was named Class 2A player of the year, an honor he earned again in 2025 after Aliquippa moved up to Class 3A. Pratt, who has scored 1,155 career points, holds six Division I offers and will take an official visit to Drexel later this month.

This actually will be the second time Pratt has played at Lincoln Park, as he attended the school his freshman year. Pratt strictly played junior varsity and didn’t see any varsity time when the Leopards, led by Meleek Thomas and Brandin Cummings, won WPIAL and PIAA Class 4A championships in 2023. A year later, Pratt led Aliquippa to the PIAA Class 2A title, scoring 37 points in the championship.

Jeremiah Pratt is a 5-10 guard who started alongside his brother last season when he was considered one of the WPIAL’s most promising freshmen.

Josh Pratt played for Lincoln Park in a Pittsburgh Basketball Club Summer League game Thursday night at North Hills. When reached by phone afterward, Pratt was noncommittal when asked if he had transferred to Lincoln Park, saying “no comment.”

Lincoln Park is hoping to rebound from a rare down season. A perennial power which was fresh off of back-to-back PIAA titles, a young Lincoln Park team that at times started five freshmen didn’t win a game in Class 5A Section 4 and went 2-20 overall in the 2024-25 season.

The news of the transfers comes a day after the Aliquippa school board voted not to renew the contract of coach Nick Lackovich, who previously was voted out by the board in May. Lackovich guided Aliquippa to four WPIAL titles and two PIAA titles in eight seasons. When asked if a “potential” transfer out of Aliquippa might have anything to do with Lackovich being ousted, Pratt replied, “No, I wouldn’t say that.”

The eligibility of the Pratt brothers certainly will come into question. Even if the WPIAL or PIAA rules Josh Pratt eligible for the regular season, he could be ineligible for the postseason. Athletes transferring after their sophomore seasons automatically are ineligible at their new school, but there have been exceptions over the years.