Washington's Professional Athletes

Born in 1873, Jay Andrews was Washington's first professional baseball player. His career is covered in a separate article, which can be found here.

Olin Martin was born in 1927. Son of Washington Greenhouse owner Rex Martin, Olin and his brother Aaron were contributors to WCHS's first baseball teams in the 1940s. Both brothers would go on to four-year baseball careers at Purdue University and were teammates of future NFL Hall of Famer Hank Stram. Olin played for four years in the New York Yankees minor league system from 1948 to 1951.

Although not a native Washingtonian, Bob Breitzman spent decades teaching and coaching at WCHS.  Breitzman spent seven years in the minor leagues in the Chicago Cubs and Oakland A's systems from 1968-75.  Soon after, in 1976, he was hired at Washington High School.

Jim Maddock graduated from WCHS in 1978 as a standout three-sport athlete.  After a stellar pitching career at the University of Missouri, Jim would spend the summer of 1982 in the Gulf Coast League playing for the Atlanta Braves farm team.

Larry Lundeen, a 1983 WCHS graduate, played college baseball at ICC and later at Southern Arkansas. He played for the Class A Boise Hawks in 1988, earning a record of 4-3 in 13 pitching starts.

Daren Epley lived in Washington while attending St. Pat's school. After moving to Peoria, he attended Peoria Spalding and later Bradley University. Drafted by the Cleveland Indians after his junior year at Bradley, Epley had a six-year minor league career from 1988-1993, reaching the AAA level.

Andrew Werner graduated from WCHS in 2005 and played professional baseball from 2009-2015.  In 2012, he became the first Washingtonian to play major league baseball when he was called up by the San Diego Padres, making his first appearance on August 22, 2012.

Mason McCoy began his professional career in 2017 with the Baltimore Orioles organization, working his way up the ladder to his major league debut on August 20, 2023, with the Toronto Blue Jays. McCoy played another 19 games for the San Diego Padres in 2024.

A 1982 graduate of WCHS, Doug Lee attended Texas A&M and later Purdue before being drafted in the 2nd round of the NBA draft by the Houston Rockets. Lee played for the New Jersey Nets and Sacramento Kings during three NBA seasons and also spent some time in international leagues. Doug retired in 2000.

Alec Peters was a 2013 WCHS graduate.  After a stellar career at Valparaiso, Peters was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2017 NBA draft by the Phoenix Suns.  Peters played 20 games during his rookie season for the Suns, culminating in a 36-point outburst in his final appearance.  He has spent subsequent years playing in Europe.

Stu Levenick enjoyed an outstanding career at the University of Illinois before being drafted in 1976 as a ninth-round pick by the Indianapolis Colts.  He made fine progress through two weeks of his first training camp before a severe knee injury ended his career prematurely.

Another Illini alumni, Mark Dennis, was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the eighth round of the 1987 NFL draft. He became the first and remains the only Washingtonian to play in an NFL game. He played for ten years with three teams.

Colton Underwood graduated from WCHS in 2010 and took his talents to Illinois State University.  Signed by the San Diego Chargers in 2014, he spent time on the practice squads of various NFL teams through 2016.