Washington State baseball commit Colton Bower is a star in all facets
POULSBO, Wash. (BVM) – Not many athletes around the country can say they’ve had the high school career that Colton Bower has had. As he closes in on the end of it, the North Kitsap senior is hoping he can add one more achievement to the conversation.
Bower, who has found incomparable success in all three sports he’s played at the high school level, has been in search of winning a state baseball championship since he first arrived. After picking up a state title in basketball his sophomore season, Bower would close things out on the court with a third place finish during this year’s campaign.
Even with his yearly success in the sport, Bower’s real love of the game comes during his time playing both football and baseball.
If baseball is his “true love”, then football is right behind it. On the football field, the star quarterback and safety has found just about every way imaginable to leave an impact for his team. From heroic final drives, to last second kicks, Bower has likely done it.
In 2019, Bower stepped in for the team’s kicker who was unable to play by kicking the game-winning 32-yard field goal in the team’s district playoff game with just seconds left. In 2021, with his team down late in a semifinal matchup, the North Kitsap quarterback put the Vikings back in front, behind an 85-yard drive that ended with his touchdown run.
Even though the Vikings were unable to close out the semifinal game, Bower and his team’s effort are hard to forget.
“He just finds a way to win football games,” North Kitsap’s football and baseball coach Jeff Weible said. “He’s got a lot of God-given talent but he doesn’t just rest on that. He’s worked hard to get better at everything he does.”
Bower’s star-studded end on the football field included over 2,500 passing yards and 44 touchdowns his senior year, limiting his interceptions to just one. On the defensive side, he nearly broke the state’s record totaling 27 career interceptions with only half of a junior year to account for (shortened 2020 season).
“He has meant everything for us the past four years offensively and defensively,” Weible said. “He makes big play after big play. When he’s playing that way, the kids raise their game around them. I think that’s one of the best compliments you can give anyone. He just makes the kids around him better, just by his play.”
Following his lead as a quarterback on the field, Bower helps run the show on the diamond as well. This time behind the plate. As a catcher, Bower has become one of the top players in the state and arguably the top at his position, starting on the varsity team since his freshman year. Since, he’s helped North Kitsap become an annual threat in the state playoffs.
Weible, a former catcher himself, knows just how special Bower has become as a backstop. When recording his “pop-times” throughout games, Bower has ranked in some elite levels. With his steady approach behind and at the plate, the North Kitsap senior has helped guide his team on both sides of the ball.
“I tell him he doesn’t have a peer when it comes to catching, defensively,” Weible said. “He blocks balls that shouldn’t be blocked. He’s phenomenal at receiving the ball and his catch and throw is just unbelievable… He’s way advanced when it comes to that.”
With a state championship on his mind, Bower is hoping he can bring some more hardware back to North Kitsap before he heads to Washington State. The Vikings senior committed to the program to play baseball early on in his career and his coach believes that may be part of the reason why some college football coaches decided against recruiting him. Even without an offer for football, don’t be surprised to see Bower make an appearance on the football field for the Cougars at some point throughout his upcoming career.
“I think after one baseball season at Washington State, he is going to try and walk-on at the football program there,” Weible said. [But], I see a kid who is going to be super successful. He is going to be a captain one day on his team and I hope he does go on and do football and baseball… I’m just looking forward to seeing what life brings him.”
With his high school career reaching the final chapter, Bower will leave with a state title and a host of playoff appearances. With so much success across the three sports he plays, Bower’s coach is going to remember what the North Kitsap brought off the field more than on it.
“He just does the right things,” Weible said. “You don’t have to worry about him with his grades… [and] as great as he is on the field, I’m really proud of what he does off the field everyday and just being a great example.
“I’ve used the word irreplaceable, I don’t think I’ll ever have the privilege of coaching another player like him in my coaching career.”
