By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Dale Mueller, the coach who led Highlands football teams to 11 state championships and eight national rankings, is among the latest group of inductees into the Buddy LaRosa’s High School Sports Hall of Fame.
The six new inductees also include Covington Catholic graduate Luke Maile, who was named the Player of the Year in Kentucky high school baseball in 2009 and is now a catcher for the Cincinnati Reds.
Dale Mueller
Luke Maile
Mueller compiled a 250-36 record in 20 seasons at Highlands. His teams had an 11-4 record in state championship games and posted perfect records five times (1996, 1998, 2000, 2009, 2011).
Before coming to Highlands, Mueller was head coach at two schools in Ohio for nine seasons. His overall career record is 309-67 for an 82.2 winning percentage.
Maile still dominates the CovCath baseball team’s record books. He ranks first in career batting average (.481) and has highest career totals in hits (198), home runs (29) and RBI (187).
Maile also scored more than 1,000 points as a basketball player for the Colonels. He was named to 9th Region all-tournament teams in 2007 and 2008 when CovCath made it to the finals.
After two seasons of baseball at the University of Kentucky, Maile was selected in the eighth round of the 2012 Major League Baseball Draft by Tampa Bay. He played for Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Cleveland and Toronto before joining the Cincinnati Reds in 2023.
To see a complete list of this year’s Buddy LaRosa’s High School Sports Hall of Fame inductees, click here. The induction ceremony will be scheduled in June. This is the 49th year it has recognized high school athletes, teams and coaches in the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky area.
