Super Bowl-bound Patrick Mahomes has unlikely tie to Fort Worth high school basketball
Patrick Mahomes is in his third NFL season — all with the Kansas City Chiefs — and has become one of the biggest attractions in the league.
The NFL MVP in 2018 after throwing for 5,097 yards and 50 touchdowns, Mahomes and the Chiefs will play on the biggest stage when they take on the San Francisco 49ers at Super Bowl LIV at 5:30 p.m. CT on Sunday in Miami — Kansas City’s first trip in 50 years.
But before he was an NFL superstar and making commercials for Head and Shoulders, Mahomes was just another kid with aspirations while growing up in Whitehouse, Texas, a suburb in Tyler two hours east of Dallas-Fort Worth.
Now a celebrity, Mahomes has ties with Fort Worth area basketball through his uncle — Joey Martin.
Martin is in his first season as the head boys basketball coach at Fort Worth Arlington Heights. He spent the previous two years at Burleson.
He is the older brother of Mahomes’ mother, Randi.
“Lot of excitement for our family,” Martin said. “He’s a good kid that doesn’t get into trouble. He’s made both sides of the family very proud.”
Mahomes is the first quarterback, who played high school and college football in Texas to start in a Super Bowl. He was a 3-star recruit at Whitehouse before becoming one of the most prolific passers at Texas Tech.
Whitehouse, Texas
A three-sport athlete, Mahomes was rated the No. 12 dual-threat quarterback for the 2014 class by Rivals. As a senior, he threw for 4,619 yards and 50 touchdowns while adding 940 yards rushing and 15 TDs.
The Wildcats won their district and went 12-1.
Mahomes also played baseball. In one game, he threw a no-hitter with 16 strikeouts. He would later be named MaxPreps Male Athlete of the Year for 2013-14.
“I never thought he was going to play football. I always thought baseball,” Martin said. “He played baseball, basketball and football in high school and was all-state in all three sports just like his dad.”
Mahomes was drafted in the 37th round of the 2014 MLB Draft by the Detroit Tigers, but didn’t sign. He was committed to playing football at Tech.
“He became more successful in football and it was an eye opener,” Martin said. “He really took off in football during his junior and senior years of high school.
“All those no-look passes and left-handed passes, he was doing that in high school. But to see him being successful at the highest level, it’s pretty incredible.”
Little Pat
Known as “Little Pat” to Martin and other family members, Mahomes grew up around baseball.
His father, Pat Sr., played in the MLB for six different teams, including the Texas Rangers during the 2001 season. He appeared in 56 games, started four times, and won seven games with 61 strikeouts in 107 innings.
During that time, Martin’s house in Tyler became a second home for Patrick when Pat and Randi were traveling for baseball. Martin lived 10 minutes away.
“We were a pretty close family. Every big weekend or holiday, we spent it at Pat and Randi’s house. It was a lot of fun,” said Martin, who was coaching at TAPPS school Tyler Bishop Gorman at the time. “Patrick was always around. He’d come to the gym with me and hang out, sit on the bench. Pat and Randi was away a lot for baseball and Patrick would go some times with them and other times, it was just easier to stay with me or my other sisters or my parents.”
The Martin family, which included Joey, Randi and two other sisters, lived in Troup, 30 minutes south of Tyler. Martin’s parents still live there
Then Joey Martin lived in Tyler until 2007. The elder Pat was a volunteer coach for Martin at Bishop Gorman.
“I’ve always said that Patrick seemed to make plays. I don’t know how to categorize it, but if you need a play to be made, he was the one,” Martin said. “Heck we would play wiffle ball and he’d hit it and go get it. It didn’t matter if it was baseball, football, basketball, any type of ball, Patrick just wanted to play.”
Basketball Scene
After Bishop Gorman and Klein Oak, Martin also coached Spring Westfield before coming to DFW.
“Patrick used to come to my basketball camps when I moved to Houston to coach Klein Oak,” said Martin, who coached Ryan Tannehill for one season. “It’s funny because Justin Jackson from the Mavericks also came to camps around the seventh grade.”
Martin coached Burleson to a playoff berth in 2018 with his son Sam, also Mahomes’ cousin. He was one of the top scorers in the Metroplex averaging over 23 points per game.
Then during Sam’s senior season last year, Mahomes made it out to Burleson’s last home game for senior night.
Martin kept it a secret, but people started to realize Mahomes was in attendance in the second half. Mahomes had to sit in Martin’s office because of all the attention he was getting.
“Sam had like 45 points against Granbury,” Martin said. “Then people started to see Patrick and was trying to get pictures. It kind of got out of control.”
Sam, 20, is a freshman guard at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
His dorm is 10 minutes away from Mahomes’ house.
“They were close growing up like normal cousins. They were like brothers,” Martin said. “All they wanted to do was play sports together. They wanted to be on the same team all the time.
“Patrick is fun to watch. Even if we weren’t related, I would be a fan because he’s that entertaining. His style of play is so fun and that’s why he has such a big market. I talk to him and I still see the little 6 or 7 year old.”
