As a youngster, Kyle Thomas wasn't thinking about becoming a three-sport standout.

Leading a team to a WPIAL title wasn't on his mind. Earning a college scholarship? Not what was driving this recent graduate of Steel Valley High School.

No, to Thomas, the reason he was playing sports and finding the motivation to work to be the best he could was simple.

"I grew up in an athletic family," Thomas said. "My dad and my brother played sports, so I started young. I always just wanted to be as good as my brother.

"I guess I turned out not bad."

That's an understatement. Thomas had such a strong school year on the soccer and baseball fields and on the basketball court that he has been selected as the PG South Male High School Athlete of the Year.

And part of the reason Thomas has been so driven as an athlete has roots way back when he was chasing around older brother Jared, a 2003 Steel Valley graduate who was an all-section goalkeeper for the Ironmen and later kicked on the Robert Morris football team.

"I would always go out and play with my brother and his friends when I was young," Thomas said. "Just playing with them helped me get more competitive. I was always losing to them, so I started working harder and figured that if I could do just a little better, I might be able to beat them."

Thomas, who is about 6 feet 1, 200 pounds, became good enough that he was instrumental in the Ironmen being able to beat a lot of teams. In soccer, his team-high 33 goals as a forward were a big part of the reason Steel Valley enjoyed an undefeated season through winning the WPIAL Class AA title before finally tasting defeat in the PIAA playoffs.

In his second season as a starter on the Ironmen basketball team, Thomas' shining moment came in the first round of the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs. A guard, he sunk two free throws with 2.1 seconds remaining capping an 18-point effort to give Steel Valley a 66-65 win against Indiana.

But -- the fact he was named to the Post-Gazette's all-area soccer team aside -- soccer and basketball aren't even Thomas' best sports. He actually sat out the high school soccer season his junior year so that he could play fall baseball.

It is that sport which he enjoys most, the one that earned a scholarship to play at the Division I level with the University of Delaware. A pitcher/first baseman, Thomas went 5-3 with a 2.03 ERA and 66 strikeouts in 51²/₃ innings on the mound and batted .333 with 17 runs and 12 RBIs.

A left-hander, he will be a pitcher at Delaware.

"He's definitely as good an athlete as we have had around here in a long time," Steel Valley soccer coach John Strom said. "We'll miss him next year, and I'm sure the baseball and basketball teams will, too. He's a big, strong kid; defenders struggled with his size and speed."

Steel Valley basketball coach Shawn McCallister knew that Thomas wasn't concentrating on basketball year-round like he did with baseball, making him wonder how good he could have been at that sport had he focused on it.

Still, Thomas' combination of raw athletic ability and inner-drive to work and improve allowed him to be a valuable member of the Ironmen.

"The biggest thing is he leads by example," McCallister said. "Kyle goes out and busts his butt. He does whatever it takes to win. He's a winner. He keeps coming after you, motivates other guys with his intensity level. His leadership is in how hard he works."

Said Thomas when asked what drives him: "I never really liked losing or accepted defeat well. Growing up, I wasn't considered one of the better players in our area, but I always wanted to keep pushing myself and pushing and pushing."

Now that he has become one of the better players in the area -- in three different sports -- Thomas embarks on his quest to be a standout college pitcher.

Count Steel Valley baseball coach Tim Vickers among those who is convinced that Thomas' drive will allow him to succeed.

"This kid works harder than just about any kid I have been around," Vickers said. "That being the case, along with the God-given talent he had to begin with, he will have pretty good opportunities in front of him."