There is probably no better description of Mike Haverty than the word “winner.” From a young age, Haverty competed at a very intense level. He wanted to win, he wanted to be the best, and even as an elementary and middle school student, he surrounded himself with like-minded competitors. Haverty believed a competitor couldn’t be the best without challenging himself against the best. Like many high-level athletes, Mike’s parents, Mick and Marlys, established a supportive foundation for Mike. Dad, a former college athlete, pushed Mike to never accept mediocrity, instilling the mindset that he could achieve more if he worked hard and believed in himself. Mom, who grew up in an athletic family, helped to establish Mike’s pathway to success, and sister Shannon and brother Ryan could always be counted on for encouragement. As Mike remembers, “We were never competitive with each other … only pulled for each other.” After his time as a Lincoln Lancer, Mike attended Benet Academy, transferring to Naperville Central in the winter of 1991, joining an already strong group of athletes, many of whom he was close to growing up. His transition was seamless. In many ways, Mike used the tremendously competitive group to become even better. Baseball coach and fellow Hall of Fame member Bill Seiple noted, “Mike was like a sponge. He soaked up anything and everything we had to offer. He was driven to be the best and have Naperville Central be the best. He was never satisfied. He always wanted to get better, be better.” In the two baseball seasons Mike played for the Redhawks, the team finished 63-9 and went 40-2 in DuPage Valley Conference play, including a perfect 21-0 during the 1992 DVC season. It is still the only time a baseball team finished a DVC season undefeated. The ‘92 team finished 35-3, and was ranked as high as #6 in the nation by the USA Today. Haverty’s career baseball numbers are still astonishing. As a junior in 1991, Mike finished with a perfect 8-0 record on the mound and a .353 batting average. He was named 1st team All-DVC, Daily Herald All-Area 1st team, and Naperville Sun All-Area. As a senior in 1992, Mike had a 10-0 pitching record with a 0.98 earned run average. He hit .321 and was named to the Chicago Tribune All-State team, the Tribune All-Area team, 1st team All-DuPage Valley Conference, 1st team Daily Herald All-Area, and Naperville Sun All-Area. Multi-talented, Haverty also excelled on the football field, earning All-DVC, Daily Herald All-Area, and Naperville Sun All-Area honors as a wide receiver for Hall of Fame coach Joe Bunge’s football program. Haverty credits an outstanding group of teammates and lifetime friends as having a profound impact on his life and career: Mark Melchiorre, Scott Tumilty, Curtis Reed, Pat Thornton, Brian Winborne, Shawn Garrett, Jeff Kistler, John Bucklar, Aaron Pembroke, John Campbell, and Keith Cunningham. Haverty singles out Naperville Central baseball coaches Bill Seiple and fellow Hall of Fame member Phil Lawler as coaches that “influenced and drove me.” About Coach Seiple, Mike writes, “Bill Seiple was a coach, mentor and is a great friend. Bill was a motivator that believed in the intangibles that winning players bring to the team. I was an average sized player, but I had instincts and drive. Bill leveraged those attributes and pulled every inch of talent out of me that he could.” He adds, “Phil Lawler was a tremendous coach and an even better person. Phil was an innovator and introduced me to the mechanics of baseball that I’d not been exposed to prior to my time at NCHS. In 1991, Phil had me do a biomechanics study on my pitching form. In 1991, that was considered out of this world. Today, it is considered cutting edge, 30 years after Phil introduced it to me.” Mike Haverty graduated from Naperville Central in 1992 and went on to attend and play baseball at the University of Missouri. He earned his Business degree while pitching for the Tigers and was a four-year letter winner and co-captain in ‘97. He pitched a complete game to win the 1996 Big 8 Regular Season Championship for the Tigers, led the Big 8 in earned run average in ’96, and was ranked in the Top-10 all time for pitching appearances for the Tigers. After graduation, Mike became a graduate assistant for the Texas A&M University baseball program in College Station, TX, where he coached with Hall of Famers Mark Johnson and Jim Lawler, younger brother of Naperville Central’s Phil Lawler. Mike earned his MBA while coaching at Texas A&M. After leaving Texas and college baseball, Haverty moved to Kansas City where he has established himself as one of the area’s top business professionals. He became Senior Vice President and Director of National Business Development with General Contractor JE Dunn Construction, headquartered in Kansas City, a top-20 national General Contractor with over $4 billion in annual sales. He owned, grew, and in 2021 sold Barrier Companies to the Private Equity Firm Lincolnshire Management Inc., of New York. Mike was initiated into the Kansas City Chapter of Young Presidents in 2018 and was named by Ingram’s Business Magazine one of the “Kansas City area 40 under 40” at age 32. Mike, along with other Haverty family members, is a current owner and investor with Major League Baseball’s Kansas City Royals organization. It is safe to say that a theme that has driven Mike Haverty is to surround himself with strong minds, invest in the people and the process, and be relentless in the pursuit of excellence. He shares, “The most important drivers for me and the most inspirational people in my life today and during my sports career have been my faith in God and my family. Today, my wife Sylvia, and my daughters Ashlyn, Kaelyn, and Erin guide me and motivate me to shoot for the stars. We are always there for each other and are the foundation for each other.” It’s a philosophical approach to relationship as applicable to Redhawk student-athletes today as it was when Haverty was working the classrooms and playing the fields of Naperville Central himself.