Relentless Pursuit of Greatness

By: D. Scott Fritchen

It isn't cold enough that Donte Lewis needs a parka, but it's just cold enough that the temperature is an annoyance, as the tires of his white SUV crunch along five-day-old slush in the parking lot outside of the West Stadium Center at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Somewhere between 14 and 18 inches of snow recently dumped on Manhattan, Kansas, and snowplows plowed most of it away in the parking lot. Lewis steps around slush as he passes the Bill Snyder statue and reaches the front gate to the football stadium, adorned with black, steel Powercats, and he takes an elevator to the press box level for an interview.

Lewis wears a black hoodie with a white "K-STATE" printed in small letters to the right of his chest. He offers a warm handshake and a smile. He stands aghast inside the football press box at the vision of snow blanketing the entire football field, which still glows bright white despite the Friday evening sun setting over the horizon.

"Wow!" Lewis says. "I've never seen anything like this before."

If all goes as planned, Kansas State fans will be saying the same thing this baseball season. When the 18-year-old Lewis steps onto the pitcher's mound and brings the 94- to 96-mile-per-hour heat. When the 5-foot-11, 185-pound native of Houston, Texas, makes a stirring introduction to the Wildcat Nation, no icy slush, all traction, because Lewis has places to go, understand, and he plans to bring the Wildcats along with him.

"My name is Donte Lewis, sir," he says. "Donte means 'relentless.' Nobody can be what I am. Understanding that and realizing my name is getting out there, I'm grateful and give all the glory to God. It brings a level of maturity to yourself, understanding that I'm really starting to turn some heads. Let's see how far this thing goes. I'm riding it until the wheels fall off. I'm taking it all the way."

D1Baseball says Lewis "might be the best overall athlete on the team." Future League named Lewis the Top Pro Prospect for Pitcher this past summer. Lewis joined the New Britain Bees as a two-way player, allowing just seven hits and three earned runs in six appearances as a relief pitcher. He earned a save after recording two scoreless, hitless innings against the Nashua Silver Knights on June 27. He also played 21 games as a position player in the infield and outfield, and he recorded three extra-base hits, 13 RBI, 15 runs scored and 12 stolen bases.

"Being a fish in a pond like that, what the award mean to me is that I'm different," he says. "This game, this is my destiny. I'm proud I could represent my family and K-State. I'm coming. I'm not coming to play around. I'm here to handle business."

Pete Hughes, who begins his seventh season as K-State head coach in 2025, owns 820 career victories, the most by any current Big 12 head coach and 13^th amongst active Power 4 head coaches. He has seen 89 former players selected in the Major League Baseball Draft. This past draft, All-American shortstop Kaelen Culpepper became the second first-round selection in school history, and four other players were taken in the first 12 rounds, including right-hander Tyson Neighbors (fourth), right-hander Jackson Wentworth (fifth), second baseman Brady Day (10^th) and outfielder Brendan Jones (12^th).

Hughes normally doesn't talk about a player before that player makes his K-State debut. Yet Hughes returns a phone call, a twinge of excitement in his voice, as he speaks slowly in describing Lewis — and exactly what he could do in his college career, however long that might be.

"Look," Hughes says, finally, "I don't know what he's going to do when the lights come on. I have a feeling I know what he's going to do. I can tell you he fits our model, he's a great human being, he cares about academics, he's a two-way player who's just as good on the mound as he is a hitter.

"He's got a bright future. I think he has a chance to be special. Now we're a long way away from that. He has to show me what he can do when the lights are on. There's always an unknown, and that's where we are a month leading up to our first game."

Hughes pauses.

"You know," he says, "I have a feeling I know how the story is going to end," he continues. "I think he's going to fulfill all the goals that he has for himself and all the goals we have for him. I do love the kid. He's one of my favorite kids. I think he's going to be fine, just fine. It's a perfect fit for him, Kansas State."

Lewis sits in a gray swivel chair on the second row near the middle of the press box. Prior to the interview, he had taken a nap. And who could blame him after a voluntary practice that ran from 9:00 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. inside the indoor baseball facility? The team lifted weights. Then there was voluntary batting practice at 11:00 a.m. Then Lewis pitched "live" for the first time since returning to Manhattan from winter break. Then Lewis took batting practice. Then he took a little nap before the short drive to the football stadium to discuss himself and the game he loves.

"It's my craft, and I take it seriously," he says. "I've been doing it since I was in diapers."

Born to Deon and Monique Lewis on March 8, 2006, 18-year-old Donte is the youngest of five children, including older sisters Dion (35), Shun (32), and older brothers Breon (29) and Dejuan (21). Deon ran track at Texas State. Monique played basketball at Texas State. Today, Deon is a plumber and Monique is an educator. Both poured into their children and sacrificed for the betterment of the family.

"My dad is the greatest dad I could ever ask for," Lewis says. "I love that dude so much. He's a fighter, a plumber, a workhorse, a man. He made sure he was here every step of the way. My mom is a spitting image of me. People say I look like her. She's my heart, man. I'd do anything for my mom. She's the greatest women on earth. They've gone without to make sure we had. We live in a pretty good house. There's never been a time where there hasn't been anything in the refrigerator to eat. They've given us the world. I want to retire them so they can do whatever they want to do any just be financially free on all fronts."

Donte is closest with Dejuan. They have matching arm tattoos and spend any free time or any holiday breaks together training or hanging out. Dejuan is currently a defensive back at Lamar.

"When we work out, he knows how to push me, or do certain things to push through something," Donte says. "I feel like my dad put that into him to put into me. It all falls in line. My brother, man, our connection is unbreakable. I'd die for my brother, if I'm being honest. It's just the way it is."

Donte began playing football and baseball when he was 4. He was always quarterback and ace pitcher, refusing to choose either sport but rather allowing the sport to choose him, which ultimately became baseball. But he believes leadership has been in his blood since he was born, calling himself a "leader by nature." He describes himself as a hard worker who makes things happen, adding, "There's nothing I cannot accomplish, and my pursuit of excellence is boundless. God has ordered my steps on every path I've taken, every turn, every cut. K-State is a fresh start, so you have to earn your stripes. That's what's going on right now. I'm just trying to prove I can lead, and I will be in due time."

Beginning his prep career at Shadow Creek High School, Lewis transferred to St. Thomas High School, where he starred his junior and senior years. In two seasons at St. Thomas, Lewis completed 64.4% of his passes for 5,117 yards and 56 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He also had 144 carries for 1,533 yards (10.6 yards per attempt) and 23 touchdowns. As a senior, he completed 72.7% of his passes for 2,639 yards and 30 touchdowns — including touchdown passes of 77, 75, 72, 68, 63, 52, 50, 48, 43, 43, 41, 35, 34 and 33 yards — to just three interceptions, and he had 60 carries for 882 yards (154.7 yards per attempt) and 12 scores.

In all, he amassed 6,650 total yards and 79 touchdowns in 23 games en route to earning 2023 Offensive Player of the Year honors by the Touchdown Club of Houston.

"Donte was as dynamic a quarterback as any I have seen," St. Thomas head coach Rick McGuire says. "His standard of play as a senior was phenomenal. He showed great development and maturity. He was a presence within our locker room, fearless with great confidence and that belief extended to his teammates. Donte is the total package. Talent, skill, charisma and enthusiasm."

On the mound, Lewis allowed two earned runs, 11 hits and 11 walks while striking out 25 in 19 innings pitched over one stretch of four appearances his senior season, according to MaxPreps. Also, during that stretch, he went 2-0 as a starter with a 0.74 ERA. He had a slash line of .412/.524/.647 with seven hits, one home run and one double.

Perfect Game says that Lewis "has a shorter and easy arm action that releases from a high three-quarters slot. Competes with every pitch he fires. Short takeaway with an extended finish. Possesses some natural arm side run and sink. Mixes in both a curveball and a changeup. Breaking ball has an 11-to-5 shape, off-speed is straight."

He was a 16-year-old sophomore the first time he hit 90. It was during football season. He mixed in some baseball workouts. He was working on different ball grips with his pitching coach. It was that day, Lewis says, that he believed that he could be great at this game. It was that day that he believed that he could be so much more than 90 miles-per-hour. He kicked it up a notch, eventually hitting 92, then 94, and then 96. He's 94-96 miles-per-hour today with a slider that turns at 85-89 miles-per-hour.

"It works really well," Lewis says. "It looks like a fastball for 56 feet and then dives to the left of you. It's a pretty nasty pitch."

It was his junior year at St. Thomas that Lewis received a phone call from Austin Wates, who joined Hughes as assistant baseball coach in 2018 before elevating to K-State associate head coach in August 2023. Wates attended Lewis' first outing of his junior year, except there was a snafu. The game's first pitch was moved back to later in the day. That meant Wates would miss his return flight if he stayed to watch Lewis pitch.

"He missed the flight to watch me pitch, and I pitched the best game I pitched that year," Lewis says. "I pitched 94 miles-per-hour, a new personal best, which is amazing. I'm not going to lie, I was nervous because I'd never had a Power 5 coach watch me in the flesh. He stood right behind home plate next to my mom and dad. Coach Wates and I kept in contact, and I felt really good about getting the opportunity to come to K-State after that game."

K-State offered him a scholarship the following week. He committed to K-State on August 1, 2023.

He was rated as the 29^th best player overall and the eighth-best right-handed pitcher in the state of Texas by Perfect Game after allowing a .159 batting average with 13 strikeouts across 12 innings of work.

"I wouldn't say I was under the radar, but I wouldn't say that schools were on me like I thought they should be," he says. "I'm a homegrown player. I wasn't even getting looks from my own backyard. U of H didn't look at me, Texas A&M didn't look at me, Texas Tech didn't look at me, Texas didn't look at me, and I'm not saying this just to throw salt on anybody, but I didn't get anything from my hometown.

"Everything happens for a reason and I'm at K-State for a reason. They recruited me for a reason. Everything fell into line how it was supposed to. God orders the steps, and He makes no wrong moves. I'm here to change the game, change the narrative, and fall in line to help change the team and become a leader in the time that I'm here."

K-State returns 14 letterwinners from a 2024 season in which K-State reached the NCAA Super Regionals for the second time in history. The Wildcats' schedule will feature eight teams that reached last season's regional round of the NCAA Tournament, including seven home contests against Nebraska, UCF and West Virginia. A total of 10 opponents — 20 games — finished with an RPI of 45 or higher in 2024, while four were ranked in the final D1Baseball Top 25 poll.

The Wildcats open their season in South Carolina on February 14, as they will face Washington, Coastal Carolina and Saint Joseph's over a span of four days. Then the team will make a pitstop to face North Carolina, before traveling to meet Arkansas, Michigan and TCU at the College Baseball Series at Globe Life Field from February 21-23.

K-State will play its first home game of the season against Creighton on March 5 at Tointon Family Stadium.

"I want to bring even more wins to this program and continue what we did last year," Lewis says. "I want to be under Coach Hughes, Coach Wates and Coach Rudy Darrow. I call it the three-headed snake. Those guys are amazing. Those guys can help me develop into a monster, something nobody has seen a lot of before. Another reason I came to K-State is because I want to enjoy this process and be a good teammate and experience college baseball. I want to compete for the College World Series. When I think of K-State, I think about a brotherhood, family, and bleeding purple. I want to represent K-State well and leave a legacy. I want to get a degree and be a sports psychologist. There are things I want to accomplish before I take that step to the next level."

He's hungry. He's just getting started. In the end, he hopes the MLB scouts, the coaches, the teammates, the opposing coaches, the opposing players, the casual baseball fan, and the K-State fan look at him, and marvel: "Wow, I've never seen anything like this before."

For now, he sits inside the press box at Bill Snyder Family Stadium and peers at a blanket of bright white snow on the field below.

Kansas State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Kaelen Culpepper

Brady Day

Brendan Jones

Donte Lewis

Tyson Neighbors

Jackson Wentworth

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