No. 2 high school sports story of 2014-2015 season: Winnetonka’s Marquise Doherty can choose between baseball and football

Marquise Doherty envisioned the summer of 2015 would be his first as a professional athlete. In the days leading up to the Major League Baseball draft earlier this month, scouts told him he was destined to be an early-round pick.

Instead, Doherty, a recent Winnetonka High School graduate, had to wait until the 15th round, when his hometown Royals selected him with the 459th overall pick.

But how’s this for a back-up plan?

Doherty told The Star after the draft that there is a “90 percent chance” he would delay his professional baseball career in favor of attending Missouri to play both football and baseball.

“If the financial needs would’ve been met, I would’ve gone the baseball route,” Doherty said. “It doesn’t look like they will be.”

As a result, he will prolong his football career. It has been a good one, too — especially his senior season last fall.

He played free safety for the Griffins. He played tailback. He was the kick returner. He was even a part-time quarterback.

He scored 19 touchdowns, two of them on defense, while helping Winnetonka to back-to-back eight-win seasons for the first time in program history.

“I don’t know that I’ve ever coached a kid who is so completely in control of everything his body does,” Winnetonka football coach Sterling Edwards said. “He’s obviously got the speed, but he can change directions and shift and make you miss as good as anyone.”

After the historic football season, Doherty transitioned to baseball during the spring and batted .377 with 13 extra-base hits, including three home runs in 69 at-bats.

This story was originally published June 28, 2015 at 6:50 PM with the headline "No. 2 high school sports story of 2014-2015 season: Winnetonka’s Marquise Doherty can choose between baseball and football."