2012 MSA SPORTS MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR – LUKE HAGY of MOUNT LEBANON

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, June 29, 2012 | 7:02 AM

Whether he carried one, shot one, dribbled one, hit one or caught one, Luke Hagy’s high school career was a ball.

In these days of teenagers specializing in one sport, Hagy was highly unusual. He had a ball year round. He was a three-sport athlete at Mount Lebanon High School, which is in the largest classification (Class AAAA) in the WPIAL. You don’t see many high schoolers playing three sports at a large school.

But it wasn’t just playing three sports that made Hagy unusual. It was how much talent he had in the three sports – and how long he played the three.

Hagy was a four-year starter in basketball, a three-year starter in football and a three-year starter in baseball. A running back-defensive back in football, Hagy was selected to the MSA Sports Elite 11, the top 11 players in the WPIAL. He rushed for more than 4,000 career yards.

Hagy was an all-section player in basketball, a point guard who won a WPIAL title as a sophomore.

In baseball, Hagy was a two-time all-section pick as an outfielder and helped Mt. Lebanon reach the WPIAL Class AAAA title game this season.

For his achievements, Hagy is the MSA Sports Male Athlete of the Year for the 2011-12 school year.

Hagy (5 feet 11, 190 pounds) finished his football career with 4,795 yards, third-best in Class AAAA history. As a senior, he rushed for 1,907 yards on 287 attempts.

In basketball, coaches voted him the No. 2 player in Class AAAA Section 4 this season behind Chartiers Valley’s Wayne Capers. In baseball, he was the team’s second-leading hitter with a .370 average. While Hagy admitted that playing three sports can get tiring at times, he would do it all over again.

“I just love all three,” Hagy said. “At the same time, playing all three kind of gives you a break from all three. You mix it up a little bit rather than playing just one the whole year. Sometimes I wonder how good I would’ve been if I played just one. But I think playing different sports helps in a lot of ways with injuries. You work different muscles in the different sports.”

When Hagy was in junior high, he used to think his future was probably in basketball. But he will play football next season at Cornell of the Ivy League. Hagy was recruited to play running back. Pitt wanted him to play defensive back and offered a scholarship, but Hagy felt more comfortable at Cornell.

Hagy, whose father is Keystone Oaks High School principal Scott Hagy, said one of the things he is most proud of is how he was always part of winning teams. During his career, he won a WPIAL basketball championship, played in a state championship basketball game, played in a WPIAL championship baseball game and helped the Mount Lebanon football team to an undefeated regular season in 2010.

“I’ve been so lucky to have some great teammates and I’ve made lifelong friends along the way,” Hagy said. “Those are things I will never forget. But the thing I’m proudest of is winning.”