DeMatha Catholic High School

DeMatha Catholic High School is a four-year Catholic high school for boys located in Hyattsville, Maryland, United States. Named after John of Matha, DeMatha is under the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington and is a member of the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference.

DeMatha Catholic High School
Address
4313 Madison Street Hyattsville , Maryland 20781 United States
Coordinates	38°57′29″N 76°56′32″W
Information
Type	Private, College-prep
Motto	Faith Filled Gentlemen & Scholars
Religious affiliation(s)	Roman Catholic
Patron saint(s)	St. John of Matha
Established	1946
Founder	Trinitarian Order
School district	Archdiocese of Washington Catholic Schools[1]
Principal	Daniel McMahon
Teaching staff	85.0 (on an FTE basis)[2]
Grades	9–12
Gender	Boys
Enrollment	807[2] (2021–22)
Student to teacher ratio	9.5[2]
Campus size	10 acres (40,000 m2)
Campus type	Suburban
Color(s)	Red and blue
Song	DeMatha Forever!
Fight song	One DeMatha
Athletics conference	Washington Catholic Athletic Conference
Nickname	Stags
Accreditation	Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools[3]
Publication	"Red & Blue Review" and "DeMatha Express"
Newspaper	The DeMatha Stagline
Tuition	$23,850
Website	www.dematha.org

History

In 1990, 21 girls from Regina High School were allowed to attend DeMatha for their final year of high school after their school closed.^[4]

Academics

The United States Department of Education recognized DeMatha as a Blue Ribbon School in 1984 and 1991.^[5]

Music program

According to the school's website, the music program includes "five concert bands, three choruses, three percussion ensembles, three string orchestras, six levels of music theory, and a History of Rock and Roll class" plus "two jazz ensembles, a pep band for basketball games, a gospel choir, as well as numerous small ensembles."^[6]

Athletics

Sports Illustrated recognized DeMatha as the No. 2 high school athletic program in the United States in 2005,^[7] and again in 2007.^[8]

Morgan Wootten Gymnasium

Notable alumni

Religious

• Sister Susan Rose Francois (1990), known for tweeting a daily non-violent prayer for President Trump, and for Nuns on the Bus^[9]

Arts and entertainment

• Bob Bates (1971), designer of games for Infocom, Legend Entertainment, and Zynga
• Peter Bay (1974), conductor-music director of the Austin Symphony Orchestra^[10]
• Daniel de Weldon (actor, writer, producer) Daniel de Weldon (1989), actor, writer, producer, and lifetime member of the Actors Studio in New York and Los Angeles

Media

• James Brown (1969), television sportscaster, and host of The NFL Today.^[11][12]
• David Aldridge (1983), sports reporter affiliated with television's TNT, and The Philadelphia Inquirer.^[13][14]
• Eric Bickel (1988) and Jason Bishop (1988), on-air hosts for The Sports Junkies morning drive-time radio show. It is heard in the Washington, D.C., area on WJFK, 106.7.

Politics

• Kevin Shea (1972), former acting Secretary of Agriculture (2021). Shea has led the USDA agency Animal Plant Health Inspection Services since 2012.
• David J. Schiappa (1980), Secretary for the Majority in the United States Senate^[15]
• Justin Fairfax (1996), politician, attorney, and the former Lieutenant Governor of Virginia.^[16]
• Adrian Boafo (2012), politician and member of Maryland House Of Delegates

Publishing

• Michael Mewshaw (1961), author^[17]
• Thomas S. Hibbs (1978), American philosopher and author, dean and president of the University of Dallas.^[18]
• Jim Nelson (1981), editor, former Editor-in-Chief of GQ magazine.^[19]

Sports

Baseball

• Steve Farr (1974), former Major League Baseball relief pitcher (1984–1994).^[20]
• Matt Swope (1998), college baseball coach for the Maryland Terrapins.
• Brett Cecil (2004), former Major League Baseball pitcher.^[21]

Basketball

• John Austin (1962), former professional basketball player in the NBA (1966–67) and ABA (1967–68).^[11][22]
• Bernard Williams (1965), former professional basketball player in the NBA and ABA.^[11]
• Sid Catlett (1967), former NBA player (1971–72).^[11]
• Adrian Dantley (1973), former NBA player (1976–91) and former interim NBA coach.^[11][12][14]
• Kenny Carr (1974), former NBA player (1977–87), and member of the 1976 gold medal-winning United States Olympics team.^[11]
• Mike Brey (1977), collegiate basketball coach, formerly the men's head coach for the University of Notre Dame.^[23][24][25]
• Sidney Lowe (1979), former NBA player and coach. He is a former men's head basketball coach at North Carolina State University.^[11][12]
• Dereck Whittenburg (1979), former men's head basketball coach at Fordham University.^[12]
• Ron Everhart (1980), college basketball coach, formerly the head coach at Northeastern University and Duquesne University.^[25]
• Adrian Branch (1981), former NBA player (1986–90). He is also a television analyst for basketball.^[11][26]
• Danny Ferry (1985), former NBA player with the Cleveland Cavaliers who won an NBA championship with the San Antonio Spurs.^[11][12][14]
• Steve Hood (1986), former professional basketball player who played.^[27]
• Jerrod Mustaf (1988), former NBA basketball player (1990–94).^[11][28]
• Kenny Blakeney (1990) is the current head coach of the Howard Bison^[29]
• Heath Schroyer (1990) is the former head coach of University of Wyoming.^[30]
• Mike Jones (1991) is the current head coach of Old Dominion University and was the head coach of DeMatha from 2002 to 2021.^[31]
• Mike Pegues (1996) is a former professional basketball player and current college coach.^[32]
• Keith Bogans (1999) is a former NBA player (2003–14).^[12][14]
• Joseph Forte (1999) is a former professional basketball player, having played in the NBA and last played for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Premier League.^[11][12]
• Jerai Grant (2007) is a professional basketball player in Europe and Australia and played collegiately at Clemson University.^[33]
• Jerian Grant (2010) is a professional basketball player for the Orlando Magic and played collegiately at the University of Notre Dame.^[33]
• Victor Oladipo (2010) is a professional basketball player who plays for the Houston Rockets and was an All-American at Indiana University.^[34][35]
• Quinn Cook (2011) is a professional basketball player who plays for the Sacramento Kings and played collegiately at Duke University.^[36][35]
• Mikael Hopkins (2011) is a professional basketball player who plays for KK Cedevita Olimpija and played collegiate at Georgetown University.
• Kameron Taylor (2011), is a professional basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Israeli Basketball Premier League and the EuroLeague
• Jerami Grant (2012) is a professional basketball player who plays for the Portland Trail Blazers and played collegiately at Syracuse University.^[33][35]
• Nate Darling (2016) is a professional basketball player who plays for the Charlotte Hornets and played collegiately at the University of Delaware.^[37]
• Markelle Fultz (2016) is a professional basketball player for the Orlando Magic, who was the first pick of the 2017 NBA draft.^[38]
• Josh Carlton (2017) is a professional basketball player who plays for Metropolitans 92 in the LNB Pro A and played collegiate basketball for the University of Houston.^[39]
• Justin Moore (2019) is an NCAA basketball player who plays at Villanova University.^[40]
• Jahmir Young (2019) is an NCAA basketball player who plays at the University of Maryland.^[41][42][43]
• Hunter Dickinson (2020) is an NCAA basketball player who plays at the University of Kansas.^[44]
• Earl Timberlake (2020) is an NCAA basketball player who plays at Bryant University.^[45][46][47]
• Elijah Hawkins (2021) is an NCAA basketball player who plays at the University of Minnesota^[48]
• Jordan Hawkins (2021) is a professional basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans.^[49]

Football

• Tom Forrest (1969) is a former offensive guard for the NFL's Chicago Bears (1974).
• Jeff Komlo (1975) is a former quarterback for the Detroit Lions.
• Mike Johnson (1980) is a former All-Pro NFL linebacker (1986–1995).^[50]
• Tony Paige (1980) is a former NFL player (1984–1992).^[51]
• Steve Smith (1982) is a former NFL running back (1987–1995).^[52]
• JB Brown (1985) is a former NFL cornerback (1989–99).^[53]
• Bobby Houston (1985) is a former NFL linebacker (1990–98).^[54]
• Andrew Bayes (1996) is a former All-American punter at East Carolina University.^[55]
• Brian Westbrook (1997) is a former running back for the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles (2002–10).^[12][56]
• John Owens (1998) is a former NFL tight end (2002–2010).^[56]
• Cameron Wake (2000) is a former defensive end and two-time CFL Defensive Player of the Year.^[56]
• Dennard Wilson (2000) is the defensive coordinator for the NFL's Tennessee Titans^[57]
• Quinn Ojinnaka (2002) is a former offensive lineman (2006–2012) and now a professional wrestler under the name "Moose" for Impact Wrestling.^[56]
• Byron Westbrook (2002) is a former defensive back for the NFL's Washington Redskins (2007–2011).^[56]
• Josh Wilson (2003) is a former defensive back for the NFL's Detroit Lions.^[56]
• Edwin Williams (2004) is a former offensive lineman for the NFL's Chicago Bears.^[56]
• Rodney McLeod (2008) is a safety for the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles.^[58]
• Arie Kouandjio (2010) is a former offensive lineman for the NFL's Washington Redskins.^[59]
• Cyrus Kouandjio (2011) is a former offensive lineman for the NFL's Denver Broncos.^[59]
• Ja'Whaun Bentley (2014), linebacker for the NFL's New England Patriots.^[60]
• John Lovett (2014), fullback for the NFL's Miami Dolphins.
• Cam Phillips (2014), wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills
• Tino Ellis (2016), cornerback for the NFL's Miami Dolphins.
• D. J. Turner (2016), wide receiver for the NFL's Las Vegas Raiders
• Anthony McFarland (2017), running back for the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers
• Olu Oluwatimi (2017), center for the NFL's Seattle Seahawks
• Chase Young (2017), 2020 Heisman Trophy finalist, drafted 2nd overall in the 2020 NFL draft, defensive end for the San Francisco 49ers.^[61]
• Nick Cross (2019), safety for the NFL's Indianapolis Colts
• DeMarcco Hellams (2019), safety for the NFL's Atlanta Falcons
• Josh Wallace (2019), cornerback for the NFL's Los Angeles Rams
• MarShawn Lloyd (2020), running back for the NFL's Green Bay Packers
• Kevin Winston Jr. (2022), safety for the Penn State Nittany Lions^[62]
• Tim Hightower, NFL Runningback, Arizona Cardinals, Washington Redskins^[63]

Lacrosse

• Paul Rabil (2004) is a retired professional lacrosse player and co-founder/president of the Premier Lacrosse League.^[64][12]
• Garrett Leadmon (2018) is a professional lacrosse player for the Maryland Whipsnakes
• Garrett Degnon (2018) is a professional lacrosse player

NASCAR

• Coy Gibbs (1991) was a former NASCAR driver, former assistant coach for the Washington Redskins, and was the owner of Joe Gibbs Racing Motocross. He is the son of former Redskins head coach Joe Gibbs.^[65]

Soccer

• Jordan Graye (2005) is a professional soccer player for the Major League Soccer team Houston Dynamo.^[66]
• Drew Yates (2006) is a professional soccer player for the USL Harrisburg City Islanders.^[67]
• Bill Hamid (2008) is a professional soccer player for the Major League Soccer team D.C. United.^[68]
• Chris Odoi-Atsem (2013) is a professional soccer player for the Major League Soccer team D.C. United.^[69]
• Keegan Meyer (2015) is a professional soccer player for USL League One side New England Revolution II.^[70]

Track and field

• Derek Mills (1990) is an Olympic gold medalist in track and field at the 1996 Summer Olympics.^[12][71]
• Caleb Dean (2019) is an NCAA National Champion in the 60m Hurdles and the 400m Hurdles.

Notable staff

• Morgan Wootten is the school's former basketball coach. He coached the team to five national championships and in 2000, was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.^[11][72]
• Eddie Fogler was an assistant basketball coach under Wootten for the 1970–1971 school year.