AUSTIN, Texas — On January 16, Jaden Greathouse was holding up a state championship trophy as Westlake captured the title in a win over Southlake Carroll. In that game, Greathouse had five catches for 95 yards and a big touchdown grab.
“It was a great win by my team and a lot of fun along the way,” said Greathouse. “This year with COVID, had to make a lot of sacrifices but everyone was so bought in and the results paid off,”
Just two days after celebrating that title, Greathouse was back on the basketball court.
“I definitely enjoyed that break day,” says Greathouse of his one day off. “I tried to make the best of it.”
It’s not an easy transition to go from the field to the court and there’s no blending of the sports.
“When I’m in football, it’s football. When I’m in basketball, it’s basketball time,” says Greathouse.
“He’s all in with football when he’s there, he’s all in with basketball when it’s us,” says Westlake basketball coach Robert Lucero. “To go from one to the other is pretty difficult.”
It is one thing to play multiple sports, but it is another thing to play at the level Greathouse does. On the football field he’s one of the best receivers in the state. Greathouse had over 1,100 yards receiving this season and 13 touchdowns. He already has offers from some of the top colleges in the country like Texas, Penn State and Oklahoma. He doesn’t have the same interest yet in basketball, but Coach Robert Lucero thinks he could play at the division one level if that’s what he chooses to do.
“He’s a pretty special athlete because not many people can play at the varsity level at such a high level like he does and at such a young age also,’ says Lucero.
Greathouse is only a sophomore and plays at the varsity level. What’s more impressive is he did this last season, when he was just a freshman.
“Once I got to that position, everybody wasn’t like who’s this guy, what’s he doing here,” says Greathouse. “They were all super supportive of me and I couldn’t ask for better teammates and coaches.”
In two years of playing high school football, he’s already got two state titles. Now he’s hoping to bring that championship mentality over to the basketball team and win it all with them.
“That would be pretty crazy, just got to keep that championship energy going,” says Greathouse.
The Westlake basketball team could very well make it happen. They have only one loss and are ranked 6th in the state.