Kimberly beats Appleton North in girls soccer showdown
Kimberly girls soccer players Emily Urban and Skyler Brey talk about their team’s 1-0 victory over Appleton North on Tuesday, April 29, 2025.
Appleton West graduate Sam Pitz signed an undrafted rookie free-agent contract with the Baltimore Ravens.The 6-foot-6, 245-pound tight end played collegiately at the University of Minnesota Duluth.Pitz was a late bloomer, not experiencing a growth spurt until his sophomore year of high school.
APPLETON − Sam Pitz might be the perfect description of a “late bloomer.”
The 6-foot-6, 245-pound tight end signed an undrafted rookie free-agent contract with the Baltimore Ravens following last weekend’s NFL Draft after a solid college career playing at the University of Minnesota Duluth.
Pitz described the experience of signing a pro contract as “super cool.”
“Growing up I wasn’t sure what sport I wanted to play, but I knew that I wanted to play something at the professional level and it ended up being football,” Pitz said. “I don’t think it’s hit me yet, or sunk in yet, that I’m an NFL player.”
Sam Pitz began high school as a ‘small guy’
The 24-year-old Pitz is a 2019 Appleton West graduate and played only two years of football in high school. A three-sport athlete, Pitz was a self-described “small guy” as he entered high school.
“I didn’t hit my growth spurt until middle of sophomore year,” he said. “Freshman year I was kind of a small guy and hadn’t played football for 7 or 8 years. I played YMCA tackle football for two years when I was really young, but I was just always kind of a smaller guy.
“All my close friends played football. So I went out my junior year. I was on JV and kind of stuck with it and worked out a little more. Going into my senior year, I gained a bunch of weight in the weight room. I also grew seven inches from my freshman to senior year.”
Pitz went on to play at Minnesota Duluth, where he was a four-time first-team Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference all-conference selection. He was also a 2024 American Football Coaches Association Division II first-team All-American and a 2024 Don Hansen NCAA DII honorable-mention All-American. He finished his career with 940 yards (13.2 average per catch) and 16 touchdowns in 44 games.
NFL teams began noticing Pitz the past few years, with teams frequently showing up at Minnesota Duluth practices to watch him and his teammates.
“It got pretty serious this past year,” Pitz said. “I think every team went to our practice at least once.”
Pitz said he and his agent went over NFL rosters to find the best fit and Baltimore seemed a logical choice.
He describes himself as a complete player at tight end who is more than willing to do the dirty work blocking as well as being able to run a variety of routes, along with using his body in man coverage to get off pressure and find holes in the zone.
“Once the draft was over, (my agent) was in contact with a few teams and Baltimore was the best possibility to make the 53-man roster or the practice squad,” Pitz said.
Pitz flies to Baltimore on May 2 for rookie minicamp over the weekend before the start of organized team activities May 27-29. Minicamp for the team is June 17-19.
“We’ll have a couple of practices and some workouts with weights and conditioning,” he said. “We’ll have a bunch of meetings with the coaching staff, too.”
Pitz said it was “super cool” hearing from people from his high school days after he signed the rookie free-agent deal.
“My parents … obviously they were super excited for me,” he said. “But I heard from people that I was close with back at high school and maybe haven’t talked to as recently. I spent the day Saturday with some of my friends from high school and a few of my college buddies, too. Also super cool to spend the day with my girlfriend also, just to soak it all up with them.
“I’m super grateful. A lot of people don’t get this opportunity, so I’m just going to make the most of it and hopefully stick and make a good career out of it.”