Lakeville North Athlete Capping Off A High School Career In 3 Sports
LAKEVILLE, Minn. (WCCO) -- As a three-sport athlete at a big, suburban Minnesota school, Lakeville North's Drew Stewart is the definition of a well rounded player. This spring, Stewart is looking for that magic number.
His letterman jacket -- studded with patches and recognitions -- tells the story.
"For a while there, I didn't know what sport I was going to play in college, because I've been loving them all so much," he said. "Depending on the season, that was my favorite sport. So that's what drove me to play all three of them."
It's not just that he's played all three, it's that he's been to the state tournament in all nine seasons he's participated, with a chance to make it 10 for 10 if the baseball team makes it again this spring.
"It means I'm very lucky with all the teammates I've had that have helped me get there, to all those state tournaments, and all the coaches" Stewart said.
It also means he's grown into an asset as a leader.
"His biggest asset is how well he treats younger players, because he's been there. He's done that as a younger player," Lakeville North baseball coach Tony Market said. "When we had a freshman catcher, last year, come up to the varsity, I pulled Drew aside and said, 'Hey, can you point him in the right direction?'"
He says his favorite moment was on the basketball court, when he helped his team win it all at the state tournament in a dramatic fashion.
"I'm still speechless about it, because it meant so much beating Hopkins, obviously the powerhouse of Minnesota basketball," Stewart said.
Here's another interesting nugget: He throws a football left-handed, but a baseball right-handed.
"I don't know, that's just how it went growing up," he said. "Basically, the bigger balls go in my left hand, and the smaller ones go in my right hand."
This spring, he's relaxing a bit -- at least by his standards.
"What's been interesting about having Drew be a starting quarterback, and be a point guard, and get him in baseball -- it's like, you don't have to be that guy, for us, especially when he was a younger player," Market said. "You can be the role player."
As he reflects on what has been, he's very appreciative of a journey that would be hard to duplicate. And of course, he's hungry to finish it with number 10.
"That would be awesome if I could," Stewart said. "It would just put the cherry on top."
