Notre Dame's Drayk Bowen Will Hit the Ground Running Upon Arrival This Weekend

2023 Notre Dame baseball and football signee Drayk Bowen‍ will move to campus this week and the St. John (Ind.) native will hit the ground running. 

The 6-foot-2, 233-pounder chose Notre Dame because of the opportunity to play both sports and Bowen will join Shawn Stiffler’s club immediately. 

Stiffler and the Notre Dame football staff have left no stone unturned to make sure Bowen has the chance to adjust, but also succeed upon arrival. 

“We put together a plan for Drayk when he gets here,” stated Stiffler. “We all have to be patient with him. He’s coming into Notre Dame early, graduating early from high school and then coming into the rigors of academics and trying to play two sports.

“Special, special individual, but it’s going to be a lot for him. A lot of us have to give him some space, but it started with putting together a pretty detailed plan of what his mornings are going to look like and as he gets to class and what his afternoons look like.” 

And yes, there will be times Bowen will need to motivate himself as he’ll need to get work on his own in both sports. 

“Drayk’s very aware there are some times he will have to spend on his own and work in cages on his own,” Stiffler said. “The priority is his lifting, conditioning and his skill development on the baseball side.” 

Stiffler has never coached a two-sport player as this is the first time he’s been the head coach at a university with a football program, so he’ll also be learning on the fly. 

What gives Stiffler confidence Bowen can pull it off? 

Part of it is Bowen’s makeup and the other part is Notre Dame baseball returns a significant group of returning players from last year’s College World Series team, so there will be a true need to play the Andrean legend early. 

“He’s very serious about baseball, but we understand that right now, he could be a pro in either sport,” explained Stiffler. “We want to make sure he is getting what he needs from a lifting and conditioning standpoint and the ability to make spring practices and work out with them. He can impact our room where he can.

“The one thing about him coming in is we have an older group positionally. He hasn’t gotten a chance to workout with us or go through a full fall with us, so we really need to assess and see where he’s at from a baseball standpoint.”

Patience will important for everyone involved in this, including Bowen. The four-star football prospect won state titles in baseball and football as a junior and was the focus of both teams, so stepping back and learning will be key to his development. 

“We’re going to have to be patient. he’s going to have to be patient,” said Stiffler. “The biggest thing right now for me is his leadership, work ethic and I’m excited to have that coming in and impact our room right away. I think he’s first-class when it comes to those things.” 

Bowen will start off at linebacker for the football team and Stiffler has an idea of where he wants to start him off on the baseball field.

“He’s played shortstop and middle infield at the high school travel ball level,” Stiffler stated. “I think he probably projects to a corner infield or corner outfield. He’s going to keep growing. His athleticism allows him to definitely stay and defend on the field. 

“The bat is going to be power. In trying to get out and evaluate him as quickly as we could when we got the job, he does an approach to him. He’s got these skills and he can do things with the bat. He can play a couple different positions. My guess is he’s going to morph into more of a power bat, which is something we need in our room.” 

If Bowen does start off on the corner, it could be beneficial for him as it’ll take a great deal off his plate mentally, which is the goal for year one as he transitions to both sports and college academics. 

“I think him maybe moving towards the corners probably benefits that because you don’t have to know every bunt defense,” explained Stiffler. “You don’t have to know every sign that’s coming in as you would if you were playing shortstop. It might even be easier if he moves to the outfield, but I’ve made no decision on that at all. I’m just saying what could be easier.

“Notre Dame has been the blueprint for the two-sport player. Everything this university stands for is telling young people what they can do, not what they can’t do. We just have to be patient. For Drayk, it’s about letting his athleticism play through. I’m more worried about Drayk being patient than us or football being patient. I think both of us are committed to helping that young man reach all of his goals.” 

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