Throughout his junior year at James Wood, Owen Neal consistently showcased his hard work and preparation.
As the Colonels’ starting quarterback in the fall and an everyday contributor as a catcher or third baseman in the spring, Neal had a lot on his plate. But the pressure and responsibility never tired him out. Instead, it motivated him to keep finding ways to improve.
Thanks to his dedication, Neal put up career numbers in both sports while helping the football team reach the Region 4D quarterfinals and the baseball team reach the Class 4 state quarterfinals. Thanks to these achievements, Neal is The Winchester Star Boys’ Athlete of the Year.
Neal’s improvements showed up on the stat sheet. Last fall, he threw for school records of 2,633 passing yards and 27 passing touchdowns while completing 64.3% of his 199 passes and throwing five interceptions. He also ran the ball 139 times for 912 yards and 16 rushing touchdowns while helping the 7-4 Colonels average 41.5 points per game.
In the spring, Neal batted .353 (24 for 68) and tallied 19 RBIs, 28 runs, 14 stolen bases and a .494 on-base percentage for the 16-8 Colonels.
After working to get stronger entering the football season, Neal said his time in the weight room aided his success. He added that he’s consistently in the weight room year-round, arriving for 6 a.m. lifts before school during baseball season.
Neal said balancing both sports takes discipline and noted that he has a support system that allows him to prioritize his health and conditioning.
“Both of my coaches, football and baseball, they’re always preaching to get in the weight room,” Neal said. “It just helps overall with athletic ability and just improving and having confidence in your body.
“The biggest thing is trying to get seven to eight hours of sleep every night, whether that’s changing my sleep schedule or keeping the same sleep schedule over the weekend, not messing that up. I also just limited distractions. My parents do a good job of keeping me focused, [helping me] not stay out too late and also [helping me with] just fueling my body to the best of my ability. My parents blessed me with being able to have all this clean food to put on my body so my body can produce at a high rate.”
James Wood football head coach Todd Wilson said Neal’s work ethic is “top notch” and that he’s confident Neal didn’t miss a single football workout session during the spring.
“It’s just great to have guys like that around your program,” Wilson said. “He elevates everybody else around him.”
While Neal leads by example by putting in the extra hours, he also leads naturally as a quarterback.
Having been James Wood’s starter since he was a freshman, Neal has always had to communicate with teammates. However, he said he’s grown more comfortable in the role over time and explained how his improved leadership has also helped him on the diamond.
“Football has taught me to be a great leader and to work hard and to push myself, push my teammates,” Neal said. “That’s translated to baseball because baseball is a mentally tough sport and a lot of [players] get down when they make a mistake, but that’s part of baseball. And going through football, and just learning how to be strong and how to control your body language, has helped me a lot during baseball. Just on the mental side, you’re going to fail. It’s just how you bounce back through it [that matters].”
Entering his junior year, Neal’s focus was on bouncing back from tough loses. He wanted to help the football team earn a playoff win after its 48-7 loss to Sherando in the 2024 Region 4D quarterfinals, and he was determined to help baseball return to the state tournament after missing out in 2025.
The Colonels’ baseball team achieved that goal, and although the football team came up short, it performed much better against the Warriors this time around, falling 56-35 in the region quarterfinals.
James Wood led 21-7 at one point in that game and Neal finished 25 for 32 with 297 passing yards, four passing touchdowns, a rushing touchdown and an interception. Overall, he helped the Colonels improve their points per game against Frederick County teams from 16.5 in 2024 to 33.0 last fall.
Wilson said Neal’s personality makes him James Wood’s ideal quarterback.
“No matter who we’re playing, no matter what the opponent’s record is, [Neal] is just an even-keeled kid,” Wilson said. “There’s no ups, there’s no real big downs. Some kids maybe make a mistake or something like that and you have to build them back up. With him, you don’t see that.”
Neal also came through during baseball’s 12-2 win over Millbrook in the Region 4D semifinals that clinched its return to the state tournament. Neal started at catcher and batted 3 for 3 with a walk, an RBI, four runs scored and a stolen base.
He later drove in his team’s only run during the 3-1 Region 4D championship loss against Jefferson Forest and scored the Colonels’ lone run in the 2-1 state quarterfinal loss to Woodgrove.
It was no coincidence that the Colonels’ postseason improvements coincided with Neal’s individual growth.
Wilson said Neal’s strengthed frame allowed him to shoulder more designed runs and increase his rushing yards from 724 to 912. He added that Neal’s familiarity with the playbook helped him dramatically improve his accuracy after throwing seven touchdowns and nine interceptions as a sophomore.
“He took a big step from sophomore to his junior season as being the leader of that offense,” Wilson said. “We knew at any time if we needed to make a big play, he was going to be able to do that for us. A lot of kids don’t have that luxury of being in the system for three years now, going into his fourth year. We’ve added a few things offensively [over time], but the basics and the layout of our playbook hasn’t changed a ton. So he knows that playbook. If we sent him out there and said ‘call the offense,’ he could call an entire game for us himself.”
Neal also made statistical jumps at the plate. After hitting under .300 in 2025, Neal said becoming calmer in the batter’s box played a big part in his leap forward.
“My sophomore year, I had a really big slump, which tumbled my batting average,” Neal said. “I didn’t have that this year. I tried to stay more consistent, not overreacting every time I get out, just staying calm, just knowing I belong there. I caught myself sometimes throughout the season trying to push too much, but I had to bring myself down, just realize it’s a team game. I’ve just got to do my part, and that’s also something sophomore year that I did, just trying to push myself too much, and I had to bring myself down, calm myself down.”
James Wood baseball head coach Adrian Pullen was glad to see Neal rely on his teammates more this season while easing the burden he placed on himself the year prior.
He said Neal’s improved in-game maturity perfectly complimented his leadership and winning mentality.
“First and foremost, he just wants to be be the best,” Pullen said. “He just has a love of competition. That’s just what drives athletes to be great … he’s a coach’s dream, whether it’s football, baseball … you know he’s going to do whatever is asked of him because he wants to win and he loves his teammates and he wants what’s best for them.”
Neal said both Pullen and Wilson have pushed him and held him accountable throughout his time at James Wood, helping him progress. He added that his family has also been a great resource.
Neal’s father Jared Sr. played quarterback at Shenandoah University and is the Colonels’ current offensive and defensive line coach. Neal’s brother Jared was James Wood’s starting quarterback in 2021 and 2022 and also played baseball under Pullen. He currently plays for Shenandoah baseball as a utility player.
Owen said learning from two former quarterbacks at home has been beneficial, and that his dad has helped him continue to familiarize himself with game plans away from practice.
He also said his brother has been a huge influence. This past season, Owen broke Jared’s single-season passing touchdown record of 17, which was set in 2021. Owen said Jared has been an invaluable part of his career.
“He was before me, so that just allows me to chase something,” Neal said. “‘I’ve probably caught up to him for [a lot of] the football records, but baseball, it still gives me something to push forward to. He’s a great resource at home, because he played at the college level. So it’s always whenever I have a question or I’m not sure what I need to be doing, it’s good to just have him here to just ask. It’s helped my IQ of the game skyrocket, and just picking his brain after games about what he saw or what he could have done better, so I can do better when that situation comes up for me.”
As he enters his senior season, Neal said he remembers the negative moments of his junior year more than the highlights. He still has goals he wants to achieve before his time as a Colonel concludes.
“I had a good [football] season last year, but there’s always room to improve,” Neal said. “I think I threw five interceptions last year, so that’s got room to come down. Then with baseball, I hit .350 this year but I know there’s way more room to improve. Just overall, being a better leader, just pushing my teammates in both sports to just be better, that’s my main goal.
“And honestly, I just want a playoff win for football, two playoff wins; I want to play on Thanksgiving. And then baseball, we lost to Woodgrove in the state quarterfinals 2-1, they won the state championship. So I know it’s doable to get to the state championship, and that’s what I want.”
— Contact Joe Tuman at jtuman@winchesterstar.com
Follow him on X @jtuman21