Caleb Stewart guarding his brother
Mekeel Christian Academy guard Caleb Stewart comes from a basketball family. His parents both played at Cazenovia College; his father is a coach; and he has four brothers who play, including his older brother Collin, who had a successful MVP season at Mekeel last year. Stewart has played many different sports, but basketball is a tradition in the Stewart family, and Caleb will have no shortage of success as he goes into his final season at Mekeel.
One of the things that will benefit Stewart this season is the growth spurt he has hit. Last season he was listed as 6’3”. Now he is 6’6” and 179 pounds, having put on 29 pounds from strength training. Last season Stewart played point guard and led the team in assists, but he is a natural shooting guard. He believes that MeKeel’s added depth and strong point guards this year will allow him to move back to shooting guard. Playing point guard meant giving up scoring opportunities, but that didn’t matter to Stewart since the team’s 19-2 record was more important.
Stewart consistently placed an emphasis on team success this year and said, “I would trade a scoring title for a sectional championship any day.” This year Stewart looks forward to “another trip to Glens Falls for a chance to get [the] Sectional title.” Last year Stewart was a WAC South first teamer, but the conversation always goes back to team success.
“Playing next to an older brother with a season like Collin had made [attaining] the personal accolades difficult. As I said, personal goals and recognition are second on my list to team success,” Stewart explained. Out of the team’s top players last season, only Stewart’s brother has graduated, so the team remains strong and he has worked on a few aspects of his game during the off-season to help the team even more.
A weakness for Stewart has been his ability to get to the rim, hence his strength training to add more power. He is also working on his post defense and rebounding, saying, “Being able to play positions 1-4 on the offensive end is a huge advantage. Being able to defend positions 1-5 is even better.” Going back to his first year playing varsity in 9th grade, his job was to hit threes which has always been a strength, so much so that he connected on 48 threes last season. His experience playing point guard has also expanded his handling abilities, as well as his court vision.
Because Stewart is a young senior, only 16 years old, he is considering prep schools for another year of development, but he has also drawn interest from Division 1 through 3 colleges . He is still keeping his options open, though, and is looking to continue playing at whichever school would be the best fit. His sharpshooting and ball-handling abilities will be valued no matter where he goes.
Upstate Scouting would like to thank Caleb for taking the time to talk with us and we wish him luck this season.
Joe Shahen-Staff writer
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