Coach Willie Schlarman calls Justin Seiter the greatest athlete he has ever coached. Pause for a moment and grasp the magnitude of that statement. Coach Schlarman has coached a Freshmen Regional Championship Team, a JV Regional Championship team and two varsity Regional Championship teams. He has coached such individuals as Eric Glazer, Derrick Smith, and Jared Lorenzen. Yet, without hesitation he cites Seiter as the greatest athlete he has ever coached. Quite an honor!!!
Unheralded Justin Seiter began his high school career in 1996, with his greatest claim to fame being that he was Mustang Superstar Nathan Seiter’s younger brother. Justin bypassed freshman basketball and played up with the JVs. At first he played JV ball exclusively and was not a varsity factor until his sophomore season when Coach Willie Schlarman arrived on the scene at Brossart High School. Coach Schlarman recognized Justin’s potential to contribute to the success of the 97-98 team and inserted him in the lineup as a power forward along with Nathan, Chris Hagedorn, Nick Moher, Curtis Bezold, Garrett Hadden and Brian Macke. Justin blended well with that group and functioned as a seasoned veteran.
In those early years he could be outwardly fiery and competitive. There were times that “J” would become a victim of his own hostility. Justin Seiter gained valuable experience which would pay off down the road when the ’98 team swept through the district and found themselves in the championship game of the 10th Region Tournament. Although the Mustangs came up short that night versus Fleming County the table had been set for what was to transpire later in his career.
On Green and White “Meet the Team” Night in 1998, Justin Seiter sustained a badly broken wrist which would sideline him for the majority of his junior season. Justin returned to action just prior to the 1999 All “A” Classic, and in the game with Paris was accountable for several late game turnovers which may have been largely responsible for our losing the game. When the bus returned to school that night, before the players left their seats, Coach Schlarman addressed the team, telling them that on that particular night Justin Seiter may have cost his team a game and a chance to win the All “A” that year, but he would stand firm behind his junior athlete and predicted that before his career ended Justin Seiter would come through at some point in the future and win us a big game.
Coach Schlarman’s edict that night turned out to be prophetic. On March 11th, 2000, with the score tied and the clock running out in the 10th Regional Championship game vs Mason County, before an overflow crowd in the Mason County Fieldhouse, Justin Seiter rewarded his coach’s confidence in him by engaging two Mason County defenders, taking an underhanded flip shot which bounced around the rim several times before falling through, sending the Brossart Mustangs to Rupp Arena for their first State Tournament, just as time expired. Justin Seiter scored 28 points that night, demonstrating his ability to take over a ballgame and his blatant refusal to lose. The next morning the Maysville Ledger-Independent cited that the difference in the game was that “one team had Justin Seiter and the other one didn’t.”
Justin holds school records for most free throws attempted in a season (178) and most steals (117). In 2000 the Brossart Mustangs won their 20th game of the season on the floor of Rupp Arena, where they defeated Graves County 47-40. Justin Seiter was named the Most Valuable Player on the 1999-2000 team.
Above all, one of Justin’s greatest accomplishments was starting a family. He’s married to his wife, Annelies and has 3 children.
While Justin’s notoriety may have come in basketball, baseball may well be his best sport. He batted .500 in 1999 and .511 in 2000 to lead Brossart during those seasons and led the Mustangs to the Regional Championship Baseball game in 1999. Upon graduation he held down eleven* individual Single Season Records – Most Hits (59-99), Most Doubles (13-00), Most Home Runs (13-99), Most RBIs (59-99), Most Runs Scored (40-99), Lowest ERA (1.05-99), Best Pitching Record (12-1 – 99), Most Innings Pitched (79.67-99), Most Strikeouts (98-99), and Most Shutouts (4-99). His career marks include being 16-7 on the mound, with 179 strikeouts in 147 innings pitched, with 13 complete games. He holds career school records for batting average (.444 138-311), home runs (24), runs scored (108), RBIs (117), steals (38), doubles (26) and triples (14). How good was this guy??? The records shown in YELLOW have since been surpassed.
Justin won numerous awards in both baseball and basketball, including being featured on Channel Nine’s “Enquirer Prep Show.” He earned a scholarship to play baseball at Morehead State University where he played his freshman season. He transferred to NKU where he pitched for the Norse as a sophomore and a junior. He was named the GLVC’s Relief Pitcher of the Year in 2004. He developed career-ending arm trouble as a senior.
The groom of Man O War once described his equine athlete as “Da Mostest Hoss” – In his four year career in Brossart green whether it was on the mound, at the plate, or on the hardwood, Justin Seiter is our “Da Mostest Mustang”, a fierce competitor who loved to win and would give no quarter to achieve his goals.
