The Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation Vs. Cancer program was founded on a simple belief: any athlete, on any team, at any age, can use their platform to help a child with a brain tumor.
Today, that belief is a reality in ballparks across the country. Teams shave their heads, honor families, and fundraise, using the game they love to support families and fund a better future for the next child diagnosed. During Brain Tumor Awareness Month, the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation’s Vs. Cancer program is recognizing five baseball teams who exemplify this mission.
For eight years, Seton Hill Baseball has shown what steadfast partnership looks like through Vs. Cancer, raising more than $128,500 to help kids with brain tumors in their community and across the country.
Their annual head-shaving event has become a defining tradition – one that gives players, families, and supporters a visible way to stand with children facing treatment. But Seton Hill’s impact has never been limited to fundraising totals.
Through its relationship with PBTF patient families, Seton Hill has helped create once-in-a-lifetime experiences full of joy and belonging — like welcoming Joey to throw out the first pitch and run the bases with the team. For Joey and his family, it was a chance to step onto the field, hear the crowd cheer his name, and feel an entire community rallying around them.
Head Coach Marc Marizzaldi has shared that the event teaches players gratitude and shows them the power of a united community.
“A legacy is about what sustains once you’re gone,” says Coach Marizzaldi.
For Seton Hill, that legacy includes the funds raised, the families honored, and a team culture that instills the power of positive impact.
Poly Prep Baseball partnered with Vs. Cancer again this April, continuing a tradition built on family and resilience. In 2023, Poly Prep Baseball and Boys Lacrosse united to raise an impressive $18,593. This year, the baseball program aimed even higher with a $20,000 goal.
The event has been deeply connected to the Lipton family, who helped bring the cause to life for the Poly Prep community in a personal and lasting way. Tara Lipton played an important role in making the event possible, and this year’s game carried special significance as it kicked off Brain Tumor Awareness Month.
Walker Lipton, a brain tumor survivor, threw the ceremonial first pitch, a moment that undoubtedly reminded everyone in attendance what this work is truly about and the future we’re fighting for.
Poly Prep’s partnership shows how one family’s story can move through an entire school community — creating support for local families while also helping advance care and research for children nationwide.
For Creighton Baseball, the connection to Vs. Cancer is personal.
Assistant and pitching coach Billy Mohl leads with a mission shaped by personal experience and a desire to make a difference where it matters most. Coach Mohl’s connection began while coaching under his former college coach, Rick Jones, the uncle of Vs. Cancer founder and Mission Advisory Council Member, Chase Jones. Experiences like Chase’s stage IV brain cancer diagnosis changed the way he saw the game, the season, and the opportunity in front of them.
For Coach Mohl, the cause is not abstract. It is connected to people, relationships, and the understanding that baseball can be used for something far beyond the scoreboard.
Through his partnership with Vs. Cancer, Coach Mohl has helped raise more than $127,000 to support children and families facing pediatric brain tumors.
His dedication reminds players and fans alike that every opportunity to give back can bring hope, funding, and visibility to a cause that cannot wait.
Since joining the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation’s Vs. Cancer program in 2021, Lincoln Memorial University Baseball has powerfully used its champion-level platform to raise awareness and funds for pediatric brain tumors.
Led by Head Coach Justin Haywood, who played baseball with Vs. Cancer founder Chase Jones, the team has raised an incredible $151,000.
Their partnership ensures local families feel direct support while also advancing PBTF’s mission to fund research and strengthen family support nationwide.
Lincoln Memorial’s commitment exemplifies how teams can use their visibility and leadership to make sure children facing cancer are seen, supported, and surrounded by care, reminding us that awareness paired with action changes lives.
Georgia Southern Baseball: A Teamwide Gift of Generosity
Georgia Southern Baseball has offered an innovative example of what collective generosity can look like.
A Vs. Cancer partner for 12 years, the program has raised more than $118,000 in support of kids and families facing pediatric brain tumors. Their fundraising efforts built toward a dedicated Vs. Cancer night on May 2, but this year, the team took its commitment a step further.
The entire roster agreed to donate NIL earnings from pre-order custom T-shirt sales to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation instead of keeping those funds themselves.
The players chose to turn their own earnings into support for children and families facing pediatric brain tumors.
Georgia Southern’s generosity shows that giving is not only about what a team can raise from its community. Sometimes, it is also about what players are willing to give themselves.
Seton Hill, Poly Prep, Creighton, Lincoln Memorial University, and Georgia Southern each show a different side of what Vs. Cancer can look like. Across the country, teams like them are turning their seasons into life-changing support for children with brain tumors. Whether driven by tradition, a personal story, or a team-wide commitment to generosity, their fundraising, advocacy, and compassion are making a real difference.
This Brain Tumor Awareness Month, we celebrate their impact and invite more teams, athletes, and communities to step up. If your team is ready to turn its season into something life-changing, join the Vs. Cancer program and help us care for families, fund cures, and give every child diagnosed with a pediatric brain tumor the opportunity to thrive.
The Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation (PBTF) has announced two research investment commitments from the Christopher Brandle Joy of Life Foundation, continuing a decade-long partnership in medulloblastoma research.
