Spring Lake’s Evan McDermott adding golf to family’s athletic success
SPRING LAKE, Mich. (BVM) — The McDermotts are known as a basketball family. Probably most recognizable are Creighton Blue Jays head men’s basketball coach, Greg McDermott, and his son and current San Antonio Spurs forward, Doug McDermott.
However, Evan McDermott may soon follow in the footsteps of his uncle and cousin, but it won’t be on the hardwood. Evan is a star golfer at Spring Lake High School, and continues to progress in the game each day and round.
Born in Iowa, Evan began golfing with his family as soon as they moved to Michigan. But it wasn’t until he was a teenager that he really developed a passion for the links.
“I didn’t get really serious about it until probably seventh or eighth grade,” Evan said. “I just really fell in love with it. It was my escape from school, work; it was an excuse to be outside and it just kind of tumbled into what it is today. Golf is just a new challenge everyday and that’s just what keeps you coming back.”
Of course, Evan also grew up playing many sports, including basketball. He has continued his career on the hardwood throughout his time at Spring Lake as well.
“Basketball has always been a big part of my life,” Evan added. “My favorite memories are just hanging out in the locker room with some of the guys, practices, games, I love it all. I can’t wait to get this final season started.”
Evan in part gets his athletic background from his father, Marty, who is a longtime basketball coach, and is also the current athletic director and golf coach at Muskegon Community College. The Spring Lake golfer credits his father as well as his mom, Rachel, for helping him to get to where he is today.
“Their support has been everything,” Evan said. “Without them, I’m nowhere. They have given up everything for me to be able to chase this dream. My dad has been in athletics forever. He grew up, played college basketball, coached college basketball and now he is an athletic director. My mom is a nurse practitioner and shows me what real work ethic is like. She doesn’t like it everyday, but watching her power through some days gives me motivation. I owe everything I have to them.”
And although he may not have quite as close of a relationship with Greg and Doug growing up several states away, Evan still has been able to take plenty from the careers of both his uncle and cousin to apply to his life.
“I see Greg every year and we text a few times a year,” Evan explained. “He’s definitely helped me a lot in the recruiting process, telling me what to do, what not to do and helping me with what coaches do and don’t want to hear.
“As far as Doug, the last time I saw him was a couple of years ago after a game. How he’s carried himself throughout his college and professional career definitely showed me how I want to be, even in my high school career. You want to stay humble and I think humility is definitely a big part of this process. They’ve taught me things that I don’t think they even realize they have.”
However, the family ties don’t stop there. Evan also competes alongside two of his cousins on the Spring Lake golf team — Dylan and RJ Lisman — allowing him to make more family memories on the golf course.
“They’ve been great,” Evan said. “They’re brothers and I’m kind of a third brother. I hope that I’ve been an example for them to follow throughout these high school years and have given them some guidance.”
Of course, with so many great athletes in the McDermott family, there may be pressure for Evan to live up to the name. Thus far, he has done a great job handling it while trying to make his own name for himself.
“I think it’s amazing,” Evan said about the family name. “We’ve always had some great athletes in the family. Making my own name is one of the most important things. Following in the footsteps of these great athletes is not always the easiest thing. But I think I’ve done a pretty good job of staying in my own lane and not coming into the pressure of living up to the name.”
Growing up playing with the Lisman brothers, McDermott began making that name for himself. Throughout his junior career, Evan has developed his game to higher levels, beginning with his time playing on the West Michigan Golf Tour. Since, he has continued to play in tournaments with both the GolfWeek Junior Tour and the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA), as well as the Golf Association of Michigan.
“The GolfWeek and AJGA are some of the best tournaments I’ve played in,” the Spring Lake golfer said. “They both do an amazing job, very well organized and the competition is as stout as they come. Those tours are both great, I owe a lot to them.”
At the same time, Evan has developed into a star at Spring Lake. As a freshman, he helped lead the Lakers to state, finishing with rounds of 81 and 79 at the meet. Meanwhile, Spring Lake finished seventh in the team competition thanks to third-place finisher Nick Krueger — a golfer now at Grand Valley State University who Evan considers one of his role models.
“We qualified for state and it was a fun season,” Evan said. “It was a good learning experience learning from Nick.”
Evan was hoping to build on that experience going into his sophomore season. But as soon as the season started, it was over.
“That was really tough, I had a really hard time with that,” Evan said. “I knew that I would be one of the best players on the team and I had been working really hard that winter. We had one day of practice and then that night they canceled it. You only get four years of high school, and to have one of your four years taken away is really tough, especially when you’re trying to make a living out of the sport. It was heartbreaking, there’s no other way to put it.”
With courses closed throughout the spring and early summer due to the pandemic, Evan was one of many who had to work to stay focused and keep his skills sharp. The time off also gave him a realization of not taking anything for granted.
Being back on the course with his Lakers team this spring, Evan made sure to take full advantage. Over the course of the season, the 6-foot-4 golfer averaged just under 72 in his 18-hole rounds, while also earning an impressive third-place individual finish at state with rounds of 75 and 68.
“I came into the season with a lot of confidence,” Evan mentioned. “We had a really good team and it felt good to really get going. We won conference by a good margin and I was really happy with that. Being able to improve so much from freshman season was awesome. I was ecstatic to finish third at state.”
A first team all-state golfer as a junior, Evan now has visions of making Michigan’s dream team and perhaps earning a Mr. Golf honor as a senior. With the majority of the Spring Lake team returning, the rising senior also has high expectations for the Lakers as a whole.
“Next year, that dream team and Mr. Golf will definitely be on my mind,” Evan said. “Team wise, we have the ability to win state. I think we have a really good shot.”
As Evan continues to progress on the course, questions continue to come about on whether or not he wants to pursue a professional golf career. While the answer is yes, the golfer is also smart about keeping his options open, and taking the best opportunity for himself when it comes to a future career.
“As far as a career, pro golf has always been a goal,” Evan said. “But if it isn’t golf, I would like to design things or run my own company. As I’ve grown and have spent my summers on the road chasing this college goal, you realize how tough of a life pro golf really is. It would be amazing to travel the world and play the game I love, but it’s not life or death. Golf is still always going to be there even if it’s not professional.”
Evan will pursue an engineering degree in college in addition to golf, and he had a few schools he could have chosen to do so at. Each of Michigan State, Grand Valley State and the University of Indianapolis were pursuing the golf standout. But rather than teaming up with Krueger again for the Lakers, or following the footsteps of another famous Spring Lake golfer in Anna Kraemer at UIndy, Evan opted to return to a state where he has plenty of family ties, joining the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
“I have nothing but great things to say about all of those programs,” Evan said. “Having family in Omaha and being born in Iowa, it was almost a calling to go back to the Plains. Nebraska is an amazing place and I can’t wait to get out there and play some great golf.”
Returning to his roots, Evan is eager for his time in Nebraska. And ultimately, the Cornhuskers will be a springboard for whatever career path he chooses.
“First and foremost, I want to get my degree,” Evan said. “With golf, I want to come in my freshman year and make the lineup, compete in some tournaments and get better everyday. Obviously, we want to win a national championship and I think that’s a great goal in my four years there. I’m really excited to see what as a team and an individual we can do.”
