By Tim Clinton
Many prominent athletes from Washington went elsewhere for college and spent their pro careers elsewhere as well.
Six who come under this category came from Federal Way High School.
Lake Dawson played for Notre Dame and became a starting wide receiver for the Kansas City Chiefs, and Michael Dickerson took his basketball talents to Arizona before starting for the Houston Rockets and the Vancouver and Memphis Grizzlies.
Donny Marshall played basketball for Connecticut and then played a backup role for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Bronzell Miller went to Utah ahead of NFL football with the St. Louis Rams and Jacksonville Jaguars as a defensive end in 1995.
Jalen McDaniels went to San Diego State before playing for the NBA Charlotte Hornets, Philadelphia 76ers and Toronto Raptors and going to the Washington Wizards in 2025.
Then there was Tom McConnaughey, who went to Central Arkansas before joining the New Jersey Generals of the USFL in 1983 as a receiver and almost making four NFL regular season active rosters.
Others of note include Travis Sims, who starred as a college running back at Hawaii, and future minor league baseball pitcher Brian Hinchy.
Jamal Crawford from Rainier Beach went to Michigan for basketball and enjoyed an NBA career from 2000 to 2020 that took him to nine different teams. He was named as the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year in 2010, 2014 and 2016.
Ahmad Rashad from Mount Tahoma in Tacoma was a receiver for Oregon who was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the first round in 1972 and played for them, the Buffalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings through 1982.
Then there was Port Angeles native John Elway, who starred at quarterback 16 seasons for the Denver Broncos after playing college football for Stanford. He went to high school at Granada Hills in Los Angeles, so he got away early.
Eric Metcalf, who played running back and receiver for seven different NFL teams between 1989 and 2002, was born in Seattle but went to high school in Virginia before playing college ball at Texas.
Bremerton's Tony Boddie played running back for Montana State and the Los Angeles Express of the USFL from 1983 to 1985 before going to the NFL Denver Broncos for 1986 and 1987.
Pasco native Brian Urlacher went to New Mexico ahead of 13 seasons as a linebacker for the Chicago Bears from 2000 to 2012.
Kirkland native and Bellevue graduate David DeCastro went to Stanford before playing guard for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2012 to 2020.
Spanaway Lake High School's Sherridan May played running back at Idaho and then for the New York Jets in 1995 and 1996.
Pasco High School product Tyler Brayton went to Colorado and played defensive end for three NFL teams from 2003 to 2011.
NFL Hall of Famer Rod Badgro came from Kent High School and played end for USC while also competing in baseball and basketball from 1923 to 1926. He played for three NFL teams from 1927 to 1936 and also played Major League Baseball in 1929 and 1930 for the St. Louis Browns.
The Texas Rangers once had Thomas Jefferson graduate Tony Barnette and Chief Sealth graduate Keone Kela in the same bullpen. TJ's Jeff Brigham is now in the bullpen for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
West Seattle High School twins Jim and Lou Whittaker accomplished monumental feats as individuals in mountaineering.
Jim, who lives in Port Townsend at age 96, became the first American to reach the summit of Mount Everest on May 1, 1963,
Lou just passed away in 2024. He led the first American ascent of Mount Everest's North Col in 1984.
Featured from this category is former USFL and NFL player, Federal Way High School head coach and NFL scout Tom McConnaughey.