Knocking On the Door: Former Three-Sport Star Luke Waddell Inching Closer to MLB Debut

From a young age, Luke Waddell has always centered his life around sports, excelling at anything that involves a ball.

That’s brought the now 26-year-old Gwinnett Stripers shortstop on the doorstep of the Major Leagues, the ultimate goal for any professional baseball player.

However, that wasn’t a goal he locked in on right away.

Growing up in Ohio, Waddell blossomed into a three-sport star while at Loveland High School. He balanced baseball, football, and basketball during his high school career and loved every minute of it.

“I grew up with my older brother always out playing,” Waddell said. “Played football, basketball and baseball growing up, it was as good as you could ask for.”

Not only was Waddell a standout on the diamond as he was named the 2017 Eastern Cincinnati Conference Baseball Athlete of the Year, but he also lettered in football and basketball. He even led his football team to a state title and still holds school records for career rushing yards, receiving yards, touchdowns and points scored.

For many, playing three sports in high school would be a challenge, and Waddell saw it that way at times. However, in hindsight, it was all simple to him.

“It could get busy but looking back on it, but all you did was go to school, had practice after and went home,” Waddell recalled. “It wasn’t too hard, a lot of guys played winter baseball or maybe you went to Florida in the fall, but I never really did that. It didn’t affect me that much, I believe in playing all sports when you’re growing up to learn how to be competitive and move your body.”

Early on, Waddell wasn’t focused on deciding which of those three sports to pursue for a career as he was constantly in-season. He would eventually decide on baseball in the mid-to-late part of his high school career, a time he described as later than some people.

“I love football, but I don’t think I ever really thought it would be in my future just being kind of undersized,” the 5-foot-7-inch Waddell said. “I probably could’ve played college football somewhere small. I liked basketball too but baseball, even though I didn’t stop playing other sports, I knew it would be in my future.”

Waddell’s social life centered around sports as well, as he embraced the chance to go on road trips for baseball.

“Most of my time was just sports and maybe hanging out with friends but most of that came through sports anyways,” Waddell said. “Fall and winter you’re playing football and basketball and spring and summer you’re playing baseball all the time. We were a competitive baseball team growing up, so we were always traveling.”

During those travel opportunities, Waddell was able to enjoy being a kid. Those chances especially came during long days in the dugout.

“I just remember the friends and hanging out before and after games,” Waddell said. “Those tournaments they wanted to get all the games in so if it’s raining, you’re sitting at the field for hours so when I was that young it was probably a little more fun to do than it would be now cause you just screw around all day.”

While Waddell grew up just outside of Cincinnati and did get to take in many Reds games during his childhood, he also got a taste of Minor League Baseball somewhere else.

For a brief period, Waddell lived in Memphis, Tennessee where he developed a liking for another team in the National League Central and International League.

“We would go to some Memphis Redbirds games and the Cardinals were good then, so we were kind of Cardinals fans too,” Waddell said. “Living in Cincinnati, people didn’t like that if me and my brother were wearing Cardinals stuff.”

Now settled on baseball, it was time for Waddell to pick a college destination. He received interest from a school down south with the help of another Ohio native.

“Danny Hall, he’s still the (Georgia Tech) head coach it’s his last year actually, he’s from Ohio and Georgia Tech at the time had a ton of Georgia guys, it’s easier to recruit in state but every once in a while, you get an Ohio kid because he’s familiar with the area,” Waddell said. “I had a close friend a grade above me go there and we talked a lot about it. The education, being in Atlanta, being in the south, great baseball program, a lot of history, just all of that.”

Enrolled at Georgia Tech, Waddell found himself seven hours from home. Although people around him already had pre-existing relationships, staying busy proved to benefit Waddell while in college.

“It’s definitely different. A lot of the guys knew each other already so it wasn’t hard fitting in, but a lot of guys already had friends there, so it was a little bit of an adjustment,” Waddell said. “I knew Chase [Murray] a grade above me very well, so we hung out a lot. My parents would come down maybe once in the fall. You’re busy in college too, you’re going to class and playing baseball, and you go home so I stayed busy and enjoyed it a lot.”

Following Waddell’s sophomore season, he was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 32^nd round of the 2019 MLB Draft. Despite being picked, other circumstances prevented things from working out with Arizona.

“I really wasn’t expecting to get drafted,” Waddell said. “The season ended, and we were at the pool one day at my apartment complex and I got called by their area scout who told me that I got drafted. I was also trying out for Team USA at the time, so I had that going on and it ended up just not working out for whatever reason.”

Playing for Team USA on the Collegiate National Team that summer proved to be a unique experience for Waddell, being granted the opportunity to travel to Taiwan and Japan.

“We flew to Taiwan and took a bus to our hotel through the city, and it was really interesting seeing the different cultures and style of buildings,” Waddell said. “I had never been out of the country, so it was interesting. Then you get there, and all those fans love baseball so much and it was a really great experience. In Japan, all those games they have a band going like in college football so that atmosphere was awesome.”

Waddell went back to Georgia Tech for his final two seasons and while his junior campaign in 2020 was shortened by COVID-19, he and the Yellow Jackets reached the Nashville Regional to close his collegiate career a year later.

The final day of his career featured homers in back-to-back games against Indiana State and Vanderbilt in an attempt to keep Georgia Tech’s season alive.

“It wasn’t how I exactly planned it in my head with COVID my junior year then coming back my senior year,” Waddell said. “It’s nice to have my degree and my senior year I had a lot of fun too; we ended up in the Nashville regional in Vanderbilt. Guys my age growing up, Vanderbilt was a top five team every year, so it was cool to play there.”

The hard work led to Waddell earning a 2021 All-ACC First Team selection. Then, in June, he heard his name called for a second time as he was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the fifth round of the 2021 MLB Draft.

"We were just in the living room on the couch watching TV and my agent called me and said the Braves drafted me," Waddell said. "Cal Conley, a shortstop with the Braves too, he got drafted the round before me and we were from the same hometown. Once I realized what had happened and it set in that Cal got drafted by the Braves too, we met up and hung out for a while. That was a fun night for both of our families."

Waddell never went to a Braves game during his time at Georgia Tech but now found himself in the Atlanta organization looking to make his way up to the big-league club. Being able to stay in the area where he went to college allowed for a smoother adjustment to his professional career.

“Being in Gwinnett now I still have a couple buddies from school who live and work in Atlanta so there’s some people I can hang out with,” Waddell said. “It’s a familiar area so it’s nice being in Atlanta.”

His first professional season ended in Double-A Mississippi where he had the chance to take some postseason at-bats for the first time. The M-Braves were in the midst of a Southern League Championship run and Waddell got to experience it all firsthand.

“It was cool, looking back on it in my first year I don’t really think I appreciated it as much as I might now,” Waddell said, “I started late in that season, college you only play fifty something games and those guys had played around 140 games together and been a really good team all year. That level of playoff baseball and any level of playoff baseball is a different animal. Every pitch you’re on the edge of your seat; every pitch is important. Then to win it was a lot of fun as well.”

Following a Southern League Postseason All-Star selection and MiLB.com Atlanta Braves Organizational All-Star award in 2023, Waddell played the entire 2024 season with Gwinnett, earning the club’s “Fan Favorite Player” award.

He recovered from a slow offensive start last year to bat .235 with 27 extra-base hits and a team-high 55 RBIs in 111 games.

This year, in his third stint with the Stripers, Waddell was off to his best start yet, hitting for a .329 average with five doubles and 10 RBIs in his first 19 games.

“I’m taking a simpler approach,” Waddell said about his improved start. “Trying to stay within myself. Maybe last year I got a little outside of what I do and struggled but you learn from that. I’m just trying to put good swings on good pitches and not do too much. That and just ignore outside noise you don’t want to focus on.”

Stripers hitting coach Dan DeMent is in his second season with Gwinnett. Having seen Waddell up close last season, he’s noted many different enhancements that Waddell has made.

“His mentality, mechanics, his swing path this year is getting better every day and he’s starting to understand himself more, how to do certain things, how his body works,” DeMent said. “That’s a big key to being a successful hitter is understanding what you’re doing at the plate and how your body moves day to day. He does a nice job at having that understanding and preparing for it each night.”

The mentality Waddell brings to the ballpark each day is what DeMent feels has fueled his hot start to 2025.

“He’s had a great start so far,” DeMent said. “He’s just been in that compete mentality and his mechanics have been synced up the whole way through. He’s been doing a nice job of using the whole field, being ready to hit all the time.”

On a Stripers team filled with former MLB players, Waddell enters the season still looking to make “The Show” for the first time. He hopes a steady approach at the plate will allow him to get the call.

“With anybody including me it’s just being consistent,” Waddell said. “That’s what those guys at the next level are every day you know what you’re going to get out of them. It’s being the same person on the field every day.”