COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. - Peyton Podany and his teammates on the Saint John's University basketball team had just returned to the locker room after warming up in advance of a preseason scrimmage against Division II St. Cloud State last October. 
 
That's when the 6-foot-3, 190-pound freshman guard from Anoka High School first learned he'd cracked the Johnnies' starting lineup.
 
"It was literally just minutes before game time," Podany recalled. "We always write down the matchups, who's guarding who, on a whiteboard. We walked back in after stretching and warming up and I saw my name was on there. That was how I found out. It wasn't a conversation or anything like that.
 
"It showed me maybe I could be a key piece on this team right away … that I was going to have a chance to prove myself."
 
Podany has gone on to do just that. Not only has he started all 24 of SJU's games, but he's averaging a team-best 13.4 points and 5.7 rebounds per contest and has added 64 assists as well.
 
"He's certainly talented," SJU head coach Pat McKenzie '04 said. "He obviously has a great approach to the game and he's able to keep his head in the game and play at his own speed. He's having a great year for us."
 
But success is nothing new to Podany, who quarterbacked the Anoka football team to a berth in the Class 6A semifinals as a senior in the fall of 2024, then helped lead the Tornadoes to a 23-8 finish and their first appearance in the state boys basketball tournament in 32 years last winter.
 
"That was a pretty unbelievable year," he said. "And to be able to do it with friends I'd grown up playing with since fourth grade made it even better. Especially because we weren't very good in football or basketball my freshman year. There were a lot of growing pains we had to overcome."
 
Indeed, Anoka finished 1-8 in football during his freshman season in 2022, and went 5-21 on the basketball court.
 
"You could feel the buzz around school," he said. "Whether it was a teacher teasing and giving you guff or listening to some of your classmates talk about it, it wasn't a good feeling. But it showed me what was possible if you stay motivated and keep working hard. 
 
"Eventually, we got things turned around. I couldn't ask for a better ending than to get to state in both football and basketball my senior year."
 
Podany had opportunities to play football at the college level, including an offer from FCS St. Thomas. But it's basketball that's always been his first love.
 
"I've been playing for as long as I can remember," he said. "My earliest memory is of being on an in-house team in St. Francis, where we lived before moving to Anoka. My dad was coaching that team. It was my introduction to the sport and I've been hooked ever since."
 
Peyton's father Cory was a football and basketball player at Anoka who planned to play collegiately at Southwest Minnesota State before injury ended those aspirations. He and his wife Jill currently own the Anytime Fitness location in Andover.
 
Younger sister Riley is a sophomore at Anoka who is part of the dance and lacrosse teams.
 
"Sports have always been a big part of our family," Podany said. "My cousins on both sides were athletes, and I remember going to their events and looking up to them when I was younger. There was never any doubt I was going to be an athlete myself. It was something I always wanted to do."
 
That's an ambition Podany shared with his girlfriend, Mya McNeil, who is now a freshman guard at Clarke (Iowa) University. The couple met at basketball tournaments they both were involved in and bonded over their love of the game.
 
"We try to support each other any way we can," he said. "We train together all summer. I was lucky enough to get to work with a trainer she's had for a while and that really improved my game too."
 
But there's more to Podany than he shows on the court. He's also an avid drawer who qualified for an art scholarship at SJU.
 
"That's something I've done since middle school," he said. "My sixth-grade art teacher was the person who sparked my interest. She helped bring out a side of me I'd never expressed before. Ever since then, it's something I've enjoyed doing on my own. Especially when things are stressful and there's a lot going on. I can put everything aside for a bit and spend time drawing and listening to music.
 
"It's kind of an escape."
 
When he returns to basketball, though, Podany is all focus. His efforts are a big part of why SJU – which lost eight of its top nine scorers from a year ago to graduation – has put things back together as this season has gone along.
 
The Johnnies – who close the regular season against Augsburg at 3 p.m. Saturday (Feb. 21) at Sexton Arena – are 10-3 since the holiday break and have already wrapped up a spot in next week's MIAC playoffs. 
 
They can secure a home game in the quarterfinals Tuesday (Feb. 24) with a victory over the Auggies.
 
"Our goal is to finish the year playing our best basketball and see how far that takes us," Podany said. "We've already made so much progress over the course of this season, and almost all of our team is back next season.
 
"So we want to keep building on the foundation we've started."