Maleek Lee making strides on and & off the football field

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - This week’s ABC7 Athlete of the Week is Booker High School’s Maleek Lee. He’s a junior and he and his teammates have a big opportunity in front of them this week.

They are in the state semifinals for high school football for the second straight year, and facing off against the same opponent that defeated them in 2024 in the same place.

The Tornadoes are traveling to Jacksonville to face off against the Raines Vikings, but Lee and his teammates are ready to fight the wrong from a year ago.

“I’m feeling great,” Lee said. “I’m ready to rock and roll. I feel like we had the same team, but we worked harder to get to this place where we’re at now.”

A big part of why this Booker team is here is because of the steps forward that Lee has taken to become a better player and person on and off the field. As a junior for the Tornadoes, he is already seeing his hard work pay off.

He was recently offered by The Ohio State University and their head football coach Ryan Day. “It was great, really,” Lee said. “He’s great guy. He just let me know how I would work at the school and how I would become a great player for him.”

Lee’s head coach and athletic director at Booker, Carlos Woods, says none of this catches him by surprise. He says the sky is the limit for Lee and believes this a great thing for his younger teammates to see too.

“It shows them that my dreams are attainable,” Woods said. “They’re within reach. Maleek being a local guy from the community, him going through the process and those guys being with Maleek every step of the way, they see that it’s really possible.”

For now, Lee is focused on the task and at hand and finishing this season by finishing at the top. “[We have to continue] being a full team and being one. Not just being individuals, but being one whole team.”

We’ll keep you updated on how Lee and his teammates perform in the state semifinals this week.