Neddenriep
Sarah coached both her sons, Luke and Drew, growing up in youth basketball leagues. Luke, now a freshman at Xavier, gravitated a bit more to soccer, which was the sport his father, Keith Kegerreis, played and coached. Daughter Sammie, a sophomore at Roncalli, is also a soccer player.
“Luke was the soccer player, so he had that passion for the sport that I had,” said Keith, a Center Grove graduate who played tennis and soccer at Trine University. “I coached Drew in soccer, too, but Sarah and Drew had that bond in basketball that I had with Luke in soccer. It’s been special that each of us kind of had that unique relationship with them. Obviously, there is a special bond here at Roncalli that they share with Sarah.”
Drew worked his way up at Roncalli, playing on the freshman team as a freshman and junior varsity as a sophomore before making varsity as a junior and getting a chance to play with Luke, who was a senior. But Luke injured his ankle and he was limited to 12 games last season, averaging 13.8 points and 3.2 rebounds.
Though his older brother’s injury took some steam out of the season, it was a breakout season for Drew as a junior. He averaged 13.6 points and shot 44% (43for-98) from the 3-point line.
“It was awesome to play with him last year,” Drew said of his brother. “They had five seniors, and it was a great group. It was kind of the year we were always looking forward to from growing up playing basketball together. Even though he got injured, it was still a fun year for us.”
Sarah said Drew was the easier of the two boys to coach. They usually played on different teams due to the age difference but when Luke was a fourth grader and Drew was a third grader, she was able to coach them on the same team.
“Luke struggled with it a little bit,” Sarah said with a laugh. “He didn’t like to be in trouble. Drew was actually the most coachable. He could separate ‘mom’ and ‘coach.’ I coached him a year or two longer because it just worked. It was fun. I feel like Drew and I have a little bit of a special relationship because of basketball. I’ve been able to go on recruiting visits and analyze film with him. Basketball is kind of our thing together.”
Sarah sees some of her game and personality in Drew. The quiet leadership. The outside shooting. The all-round game. “But he’s a lot more athletic,” Sarah said. “I don’t know where he gets his jumping ability from. Obviously not me.”
After high school, Sarah went on to play three seasons at Butler before transferring to Western Michigan for her senior season. She was second-team AllHorizon League as a junior at Butler. Roncalli coach Jamin Wernke, a 2002 Roncalli graduate, remembers watching her play in high school.
“You talk to people from the ‘90s at Roncalli and when they learned Sarah Hurrle’s kid were playing basketball it was like, ‘Oh, can he beat his mom?’” Wernke said. “With Sarah being on the wall as an Indiana All-Star, it was a big deal when Drew and Luke came here.”
Wernke, who has four kids sixth grade and younger, is now next door neighbors with the Kegerreis family. “It’s nothing for my son to go down to Drew’s driveway and they will be shooting together,”
Wernke said. “He’s pushed them on the swing in the backyard. He’s a great kid.”
Not a bad player, either. Drew has an offer from NAIA Judson University (Ill.) and interest from a number of other programs at various levels, including several in-state programs. In another “it’s a small world” tie to Roncalli, one of the coaches recruiting him — UIndy’s Paul Corsaro — is a Roncalli graduate. His sister Lindsay broke Sarah’s scoring record.
“I’ve been talking to a lot of Division II programs,” Drew said. “I’m hoping some of the schools that have watched me play will offer soon.”
Wernke said it is a credit to Drew that he has worked his way into becoming the player he is now and what he can become.
“This is probably the first time in his life he’s been the key guy on opposing scouting reports,” Wernke said. “He’s having to adjust to that now, but he just keeps getting better. There’s a lot of potential there. He’s a 6-3 guy who can knock down shots as well as anybody.”
Sarah’s coaching days ended a few years ago. But she still offers advice for Drew as he enters the final few weeks of his senior season.
“I know everybody wants to look to the future, but it never gets any better than high school basketball,” she said. “You are playing for your community with your friends, your parents cheering you on. Roncalli is a special place. People I know are cheering Drew on even though they may have never even met Drew. High school basketball is the best it gets it my opinion.”
Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.