Plenty of high school athletes wish they could play three sports at the varsity level. Plenty more wish they could help lead their team deep into the state playoffs in three sports.
That’s exactly what DJ McNew did as a senior, and what a tremendous senior year it was.
He’s nominated for the 1 Awards as a basketball player, but McNew was an impact player on the football and baseball fields as well at Mountain Grove.
Mountain Grove won district titles in all three sports in 2015-16. The Panthers made it to the quarterfinals in football (10-3), reached the Final Four in basketball with a third-place finish (28-5) and won the Class 3 MSHSAA State Championship in baseball (25-5).
“My favorite sport is probably baseball,” said McNew. "I grew up playing baseball my whole life, that’s what I’m going to play in college and that’s always been the most interesting. Basketball is a close second. It’s fun… I never played competitive basketball until high school ball.”
As a basketball player, McNew garnered an all-state selection and was the two-time SCA Conference player of the year. He averaged 21 points and 6 rebounds per game as a senior and led the Panthers to their first Final Four appearance since 2004.
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“Definitely my senior year, I’ll remember winning districts and making it to the Final Four and getting experience to play up at Columbia,” he said. “I’ll remember having a decent finish with us finishing third. It was great being a part of one of the best teams Mountain Grove has ever had in basketball.”
The apex of his athletic career as a high schooler was the state championship run in baseball in the spring. It was a bitter sweet moment for the shortstop.
“It was kind of tough,” McNew said, “because you’re done with high school, and it was just so fun and one of the best things because you’ll remember forever and you’ll never forget it.”
As if playing three sports wasn’t enough, McNew participates in another physically-rigorous activity.
McNew has grown up on a farm his entire life. He and his father tend to their livestock, but horses were always absent from the farm. DJ wanted a horse, so as young teenager, his father got him a horse of his own.
“I thought, maybe having a horse would be pretty fun, so I got one and got into team roping.
“It’s where two guys are on a horse, they turn a steer out and one guys takes it down by the horns and the other guy ropes its legs. The fastest time wins. I’ve done that for a couple summers on top of playing baseball. I started doing that my sophomore year.”
Not only does horse riding and team roping keep McNew in excellent shape for sports, but it also plays a vital role in his career aspirations.
He’s going to attend State Fair Community College in Sedalia and play baseball. He wants to ultimately continue playing baseball at a four-year university and earn a degree to become a veterinarian.
“I want to be a college athlete for four years and get my degree,” said McNew. “I want to get my degree and my associates in animal science my first two years, then maybe transfer to a four year school, keep playing baseball and I hope to be a vet. I want to come back to my hometown and see if I can start something up.
“My first couple years in high school, I wanted to be in business. I know vets are pretty well off, and I like working with livestock and animals… That’s what my dad does, he works with livestock. It’s definitely made an influence on what I want to do.”
DJ McNew will go down as one of the best athletes to come through Mountain Grove. Now he’ll embark off to college to continue playing baseball and helping the animals he loves.
