Whether he’s asked to be the quarterback in the Wildcat formation in football or play just about any position on the baseball field, St. Laurence’s Cory Les is always up for the challenge.
So it comes as no surprise that Les, a Louisville baseball recruit, is excited about two things for his senior season on the diamond.
First, there’s the target the Vikings have on their back as a reigning state champion with most of their team coming back. Then, there’s moving up to Class 4A after winning the 3A title last spring.
“Knowing people are coming for us, we embrace that,” he said. “There’s no way to run from it, so we run toward it. We’re not content with what happened last year. We want to be even better.”
If St. Laurence is indeed able to top the historic 2025 season — the state championship was the program’s first — Les will undoubtedly be a big part of it. In many ways.
A major varsity contributor since he was a freshman, Les has always played the outfield. Last season, he worked in some pitching as a bullpen option.
For his senior year? St. Laurence coach Pete Lotus confirmed that everything is on the table.
“We’ve asked Cory to do different things every year,” Lotus said. “This year, we’re also going to ask him to play some shortstop. And we’re going to depend on him more on the mound, possibly in a starting role.
“It’s great to see him having the mentality to be able to handle any spot we put him in.”
That’s nothing new for Les. Last fall on the football field, he ran for 1,414 yards and 13 touchdowns during the Vikings’ march to the Class 6A semifinals. He played running back and Wildcat quarterback, also throwing three TD passes and catching three more TDs.
Les, who hit .348 with four homers and 37 RBIs last spring, has been committed to Louisville for baseball since before his junior year. So, it could have been easy to walk away from football and zero in on the sport of his future.
But he believes strongly in the value of being a versatile athlete.
“It’s one of the main reasons I’m able to be who I am today,” Les said. “The lessons, the skills, the things you have to do on the football field, the toughness.
“You can’t translate that over and you don’t learn all that just by playing a single sport. I think I’ve taken full advantage of being able to play multiple sports, and I couldn’t see myself without either sport.”
Senior infielder Mickey Lotus, Pete’s son, also plays football. He’s spent countless hours watching Les both on and off the field over the years.
“He’s obviously very talented and he hits the ball really hard,” Mickey said. “But it’s more than that. He’s a great leader. It’s the way he attacks every day.
“He’s a very competitive kid and he’s always looking to get better. That’s why he is what he is. He’s very good.”
So good that Pete Lotus acknowledged he sometimes looks at Les’ production as a given.
“It’s always really great when you have someone who played a lot as a young guy, as a freshman and a sophomore,” Pete said. “You just rely on them for so much. You hopefully don’t take for granted the things they do on a daily basis, but you get really used to them being reliable.”
Now, Les just wants to make more history. No matter the class.
“People have been telling us that 4A is going to be a big struggle,” he said. “Bring it on. We want to be in 4A. We want to get that title in the highest division.
“We know we can do it and we’ve got the guys here to do it. It’s just putting in the hard work and believing.”
