Family, potential for greatness, lead Lawson to Notre Dame baseball

It was going to take a special person to fill the massive hole created in the third base coaching box for Notre Dame High School baseball by the departure of recently retired Bulldog coach Jeff Graviett. However, it appears that Graviett’s last act of impact on the Notre Dame program has the potential to be a profound and lasting one.

Notre Dame recently hired former Cape Catfish pitching coach, and current Bulldog junior varsity coach, Dave Lawson to lead the program beginning with the 2024 season.

“I like the opportunity,” Lawson, “and what I think can be done there. Notre Dame has been great in the past.”

Lawson and Graviett spoke last summer – not about Lawson replacing Graviett – but just about helping the program, which included Lawson’s oldest son, freshman infielder, Chase Lawson. So, with that, Lawson served as an assistant this past spring to see what the program was like.

“I was kind of unsure and unclear about Notre Dame itself,” Lawson said. “I had a lot to learn and wanted to see where this went.”

It “went” well enough that he wanted to pursue the head coaching opportunity.

“Coach Graviett has done an amazing job there,” Lawson said. “They were great at one time, and I want to get back to that.”

In 27 years, Graviett’s baseball teams won 11 District championships, advanced to five Final Fours, and won state championships twice. However, after winning District titles five times in a six-year period through 2018, Notre Dame hasn’t won one since.

“The thing that had made Notre Dame great,” Lawson explained, “was all of the time, effort, and hard work that went into it. Not to say that they haven’t put hard work in, but in order to be great, you are trying to get to that level, you train and have something to push towards. Once you achieve greatness, it is hard to stay at that level.”

Lawson said, “he loves the kids at Notre Dame,” and he wants to “get kids back excited for baseball.”

“I want to make it something that they want to do,” Lawson said, “not something that they have to do.”

He also said that hard work is going to be the foundation of any success that the program achieves.

“I’m going to expect the kids to show up and work,” Lawson said.

Notre Dame fielded a 2023 roster with 14 players who will return in 2024, including second baseman Logan Landewee, catcher Brycen Clark, pitcher/outfielder Jack Evans, infielder TJ Bolen, outfielder Brett Dohogne, and pitcher/infielder Reid Morgan, among others.

“There were a lot of young kids who got a chance to play on the varsity team this year,” Lawson said. “There is no doubt that they will be better for that, but it also means that there are going to be other guys there that will challenge them and want to play too.

“I expect the next group of freshmen to want to come in there and play and compete. We are going to have to see the freshmen and sophomores, who did play this year, step up and play bigger roles.”

Lawson has spent the past three summers helping the Cape Catfish evolve (quickly) into the most successful franchise in the highly-competitive Prospect League.

He stepped away from that role this spring in order to spend more time watching (and coaching) his own kids, rather than someone else’s.

“Chase’s travel team (this summer) will play a little different schedule and will have a lot more travel,” Lawson said. “My youngest son (12-year-old Bryce) is the same way.

“It is different stuff that I just can’t throw on one person (Lawson is married to Southeast Missouri State gymnastics coach, Ashley Lawson) anymore. She has been really good in the past with me doing the Catfish, and it allowed her to be at more stuff like that. But with both kids playing higher-level baseball, it makes it next to impossible.”