Categories: Analysis

A look back at some Phillies’ high school careers in other sports

Rhys Hoskins had an incredible high school sports career. (Cheryl Pursell)

While we continue to wait for baseball to return, the best thing we can do to keep entertained is by looking at the past.

Before they were professional baseball players, some current Phillies showed off their athleticism in other sports. Here are some of the best examples:

Roman Quinn

Quinn, who played shortstop and center fielder for St. Port Joe’s High School, received a full scholarship offer to play baseball at Florida State University. He decided against attending when the Phillies drafted him in the 2011 draft. But baseball was not the only sport that Quinn played in high school.

Per his MaxPreps page, Quinn was the starting point guard for the St. Port Joe’s varsity basketball team his final two years of high school. During his senior year, Quinn averaged 20.6 points per game, helping his team to a 22-7 record.

Quinn’s season-high came in a 63-54 win over West Gadsden, when he scored 32 points on 21 shots. Come spring, Quinn hit .458 with two home runs, 20 RBIs and 43 runs for the baseball team while manning shortstop and centerfield, showing enough for the Phillies to take him in the second round of the amateur draft.

J.T. Realmuto

Long before he earned the title of “best catcher in baseball,” Realmuto was a dynamic three-sport athlete at Carl Albert High School in Midwest City, Oklahoma.

He was absolutely electric his senior year for the baseball team. In 42 games, Realmuto hit .595 with 26 doubles, 28 home runs, 119 RBIs and an absolutely ridiculous 1.932 OPS.

Realmuto was the quarterback for his football team, leading them to a state title his senior year. In 14 games, he threw for 1,937 yards and ran for an additional 1,412, gaining 20 touchdowns in the air and 25 on the ground. This clip from the Oklahoman Video Archive shows him scoring a game-winning touchdown followed by an entertaining post-game interview:

While there are unfortunately no highlights of it or stats available, Realmuto was a forward on his basketball team as well. Clearly, he was a great athlete in high school, and Phillies fans were able to witness his athleticism on display in a stellar first year with his new team.

Andrew Knapp

Knapp, who has served the role of backup catcher during his three years as a Phillie, was drafted by the team in the second round of the 2013 draft out of University of California-Berkeley. But in high school, Knapp did not stick to just baseball.

According to his MaxPreps page, Knapp played in the secondary and was a punt returner for Granite Bay High School in Granite Bay, California. Wearing No. 15, which he wears now as a major leaguer, Knapp recorded seven interceptions over two years with the team. He also returned 24 punts his senior year for 166 yards, showing that Realmuto is not the only athletic catcher on the Phillies roster.

Rhys Hoskins

Before an incredible MLB debut, and even before the Phillies drafted him in the second round of the 2014 draft, Hoskins was a three-sport athlete.

In his junior year at Jesuit High School in Carmichael, California, Hoskins played football in the fall, basketball in the winter and baseball in the spring.

Hoskins played wide receiver for the football team. In nine games, Hoskins caught 35 passes for 409 yards and six touchdowns. He also served as the team’s punter, averaging 38.1 yards/punt with a long of 55. For the basketball team, Hoskins averaged 5.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game across two seasons.

Ultimately, Hoskins stood out the most on the baseball diamond, hitting .362 with six home runs and 54 RBIs during his final two seasons. He then committed to Sacramento State, where he spent three seasons before being drafted by the Phillies.