SEATTLE-O’Dea is a building in which many area codes come together and become men in a short span of 4 years. A school of character faith and service, it is a school unlike any other.
The 7th ranked outfielder in the state according to Perfect Game, Henry Muench, class of 2020, at O’Dea High School, was also a football star as well.
Muench started playing football in the 8th grade in order to get prepared for playing at O’Dea but he never loved it as much as he loved baseball.
Henry grew up playing baseball on the West Seattle Little League fields. The historic fields of Bar-S are the grounds which shaped Henry.
There have been many great players to come out of Bar-S recently, including as Miles Gostola out of West Seattle High School class of 2023 who is starting his freshman year at Gonzaga University, It is safe to say that Muench is one of the best players in recent years to come out of West Seattle.
Even though Henry played varsity football for the Irish baseball was Henry's real love.
“You know I was just too into baseball to ever think about football, also I was never as close to as good at football as I was at baseball, I grew up playing baseball it was my first love.”
Muench's dad also loved baseball, making him also love it in return. Muench always loved baseball since he started playing it. He and his dad would play catch on their quiet street throwing the ball up and down it to bolster his arm strength.
Growing up playing with all the West Seattle kids there was bonds built throughout all those years.
“A lot of those kids I played with went off to play at West Seattle and a couple of them to play at Chief Sealth, a couple of them went to O’Dea with me. I always kinda knew I’d be at O’Dea from going to Westside school (a small private K-8 school in the depths of West Seattle). I later would be playing against those kids in the state playoffs.”
It came full circle with Muench playing with them as a kid to them playing against each other in the state playoffs. During Muench’s tenure at O’Dea in his three years on varsity he got knocked out of the state playoffs three times by West Seattle High School.
Muench is one of the best O’Dea athletes to come out of West Seattle. He went off to play at the University of Portland and certainly a role model to future O’Dea students and O’Dea baseball players.
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