It wasn’t a distinction Ryan Wheeler necessarily sought.
Things, however, sometimes have a mind of their own.
“Well, it just came about my junior year,” Wheeler said with a laugh. “In football, people just started calling me (‘The Freak’). And, honestly, it kind of stuck there because all my friends — not even in sports — were calling me it. It stuck around the school. So it’s kind of cool, I guess.”
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The 5-foot-10, 160-pound Wheeler earned all-conference honors in the DuPage Valley with six interceptions as a cornerback in football, but baseball was his true calling card.
The senior shortstop performed bigger than his size as the Wildcats earned a second straight conference title. And the 2018 Naperville Sun Baseball Player of the Year leaves a mighty large imprint on the program.
“He just does things that people shouldn’t know how to be able to do on the baseball field and the football field,” Neuqua coach Robin Renner said.
One of three players to finish the season hitting above .400 for Neuqua (31-4) — joining outfielders Evan Ranneklev and Jack Rigoni — Wheeler powered the offense with a .449 batting average.
Wheeler, the conference’s co-offensive player of the year, also scored 47 runs. He showed some pop with three homers and 25 RBIs and constantly set the tone for a deep lineup that averaged 8.1 runs a game.
“(Wheeler) does things that you just don’t believe,” Rigoni said. “He’ll make a great diving play and then the next inning, he’ll lead off with a double or something. He’s just kind of a freak athlete.”
Likewise, Wheeler also didn’t let up this season, helping the Wildcats to a 12th regional title. That came after hitting .440 with 43 runs and 32 RBIs as a junior.
He also stepped in seamlessly for James Gargano atop the batting order and at short.
Gargano, who just finished his freshman season at Butler, knew his former double-play partner was unique from the start of the 2016 playoffs.
“There was just something special,” Gargano said. “I mean, that first game, I think he had three hits. And I was like, ‘Geez, he’s a sophomore and he’s just seeing varsity pitching now and he’s already raking.’ It was funny. I wasn’t surprised, though.
“But it was just eye-opening to see that the kid can hop into that situation and not really feel as much pressure as I thought a sophomore would usually feel.”
Pressure is exactly what Wheeler applied in his time at Neuqua, leaving as the program’s all-time leader with a .440 batting average and 120 hits.
In the fall, he heads to Western Michigan to begin the next chapter. Unsure of his future, he has thoughts of walking on and continuing his baseball career.
If that’s the decision he eventually makes, he’ll rely on the ethos that made him so electric on the varsity for Neuqua.
“I just work hard every day,” Wheeler said. “As everyone does, we all go to practice every day, do what we need to do and then that’s about it. Working hard is a big thing.”
Over 20 years, Renner has been blessed with the opportunity to coach infielders like Jake Blair, Keelan Amelianovich, Jordan Tokarz, Rob Elliott and Gargano.
He just has one message to any folks listening in Kalamazoo, Mich.
“(Wheeler) would do as good as any freshman middle infielder that they have coming in,” Renner said. “I’d bet on that.”
Blake Baumgartner is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.