Maddox Yost watched college baseball games on television growing up and pictured himself playing there one day.
“I used to call the bats they used ‘noise bats,’’’ says Maddox, 18, a 2025 graduate of Mt. Lebanon High School in southwestern Pennsylvania. “I always dreamt of playing and hoping to be up there.”
A left knee injury during his sophomore year of high school had threatened Maddox’s baseball future. However, a timely evaluation and surgery by Jonathan Hughes, MD, UPMC orthopaedic sports medicine surgeon, ensured Maddox didn’t miss any valuable baseball time.
The quick treatment and surgery enabled Maddox to earn a baseball scholarship to Millersville University.
Impressed by Dr. Hughes’ work, Joe Yost — Maddox’s dad — turned to the surgeon himself when he needed reconstructive shoulder surgery in 2025.
“For obvious reasons, he’s good at what he does,” says Joe, 46, of Mt. Lebanon. “We saw Maddox’s surgery, his recovery, the game plan afterwards, the therapy.”
Maddox’s Story: A Noncontact Knee Injury
Maddox loves baseball and excels as a catcher. But he also played football at Mt. Lebanon because the sport helped with his strength and conditioning for baseball.
During a football workout in August 2022, he felt “a big pop” in his left knee when he changed directions. Within minutes, he was having trouble bending and straightening his knee.
“At first, I thought of the worst possibilities — ACL or something,” Maddox says. “Luckily, it wasn’t. But when I couldn’t bend my knee, it was pretty scary. A lot of people definitely take it for granted, and when something like that happens, it’s like, ‘Oh man, this is not right.’”
Maddox was evaluated by Tony Turchetta, LAT, a UPMC athletic trainer who works with Mt. Lebanon student-athletes. Tony set up an appointment with Dr. Hughes two days later.
A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan showed that a piece of cartilage had broken off and was floating in his left knee joint. Dr. Hughes told Maddox and his family that Maddox would need surgery and scheduled it for that same week.
“When he told me that we’ve got to do surgery, I felt sick, almost,” Maddox says. “Because I’ve never had surgery like that before, especially on my knee. It was scary.”
“At the time, we were a little bit freaking out,” Joe says. “Obviously, he was a very good catcher. He wanted to catch. He wanted to go to college. We were thankful for Dr. Hughes.”
Instead of removing the loose piece of cartilage, Dr. Hughes put it back and secured it with a screw. This alignment would help stabilize Maddox’s knee in the long term.
“We really appreciated (that),” Joe says. “This is what we’re looking for with something like this — someone who knows what they’re doing. It was more of a rehab, but it was also, in his opinion, going to be more of a success rate on him getting back to being able to catch.”
Maddox was glad to have the surgery done so quickly, allowing him to get a jump-start on his rehabilitation. The sophomore spring baseball season and the summer travel season afterward are important for college baseball recruiting.
“It literally couldn’t have happened at a better time because of baseball,” he says. Maddox was on crutches for a week after surgery but had to keep his knee in a locked brace for a few months. He began physical therapy in September, working to regain the strength and flexibility in his leg.
“All of my muscles were kind of gone,” he says. “My leg was just nothing. It was terrifying to me. I’m not skinny, but I’m not too big. I still have a little bit of muscle there, and it was just completely gone, and just skin.
“It was scary, but we kept going and taking it day by day and doing the stuff at home and at PT to where I was just building the strength back up. It all just helped in the end, just staying on top of it and paying attention to what they said. Especially Dr. Hughes.”
Dr. Hughes cleared Maddox to resume hitting and other baseball activities in February 2023.
“The confidence skyrocketed then because I was able to get back to doing everything,” Maddox says.
By the time Mt. Lebanon’s season began, Maddox was ready. He earned a spot on the varsity roster and helped the Blue Devils win the WPIAL Class 6A title and finish second in the state. He then had a strong summer travel season and participated in fall camps.
“(Making varsity) was one of the better feelings I’ve had,” Maddox says. “When (the injury) happened, I was like, ‘I don’t know if I’ll be able to catch again.’ Sure enough, I kept working at it and tried to build the strength back up. It paid off, for sure.”
Joe’s Story: A Traumatic Shoulder Injury
After Maddox’s full recovery, Joe injured his left shoulder in a car accident in January 2024. Despite significant pain, Joe says he put off getting an MRI until November.
The MRI showed he had a torn labrum, a torn rotator cuff, and bicep damage. He’d need surgery.
The choice of surgeon was obvious, Joe says.
“When I found out that Dr. Hughes did shoulders and knees, it was a no-brainer,” he says.
“Obviously, he’s skilled at what he does. We appreciated his personal approach, his demeanor. We never felt rushed. We were always the ones, in my opinion, who felt like we ended the conversation. He’s just a likable guy who is good at what he does.”
Joe waited until May 2025 to contact Dr. Hughes. By then, the shoulder was causing significant pain even with minor activities. He had trouble sleeping and stopped working out.
“I’m 46,” Joe says. “I’m thinking, ‘How am I going to live with this and not correct it until I’m 66?’
“I wanted to bite the bullet and just get it figured out and have four or five months of rehab and pain, and hopefully be 100% for the rest of my life.”
Because they had family trips planned for the early summer, Joe scheduled his surgery for July. He says the shoulder surgery went much better than he expected.
“I’m going to attribute it again to Dr. Hughes’ skills,” Joe says. “Shoulder surgeries are supposed to be one of the worst, and it wasn’t that bad. Don’t get me wrong, it was horrible sleeping in the sling and whatever. But I’ve said it numerous times: I was pleasantly surprised.”
Hoping for Pain-Free Futures
With his knee fully healed, Maddox wrapped up a successful Mt. Lebanon baseball career in 2025. After the WPIAL championship and state runner-up finish in 2023, he helped Mt. Lebanon finish second in the WPIAL in 2024 as starting catcher. In 2025, he was named all-section after leading Mt. Lebanon to the playoffs.
Now, he’ll realize his dream of playing college baseball at Millersville.
“My goals are to start and get on the field as soon as I can and hopefully win a national championship with a great program I’m going to,” he says.
Joe started physical therapy for his shoulder in August with John Scott Colombo, DPT, at UPMC Rehabilitation Institute – South Hills.
He says he’s well ahead of where he hoped to be at this point.
“I couldn’t be happier with my outcome as well,” Joe says.
Maddox says he’s had no setbacks with his knee through multiple seasons of playing baseball. He’s thankful to Dr. Hughes and his staff for their help.
“They’re great people,” he says. “They know what they’re doing. They’re very friendly, professional, and everything. They keep everything very exact, and it’s not hard to follow.”