He was a hard-hitting catcher who in 1988 played in the farm system of the Texas Rangers. He was on the Boise Hawks, the Rangers farm team in the Northwest League. 

In 1984 and 1985, DePew was a catcher for the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

In 1986 and 1987, he caught for Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. His senior year, he batted .382 and was named MVP and All-Region. His team won 40 games and lost 15 with one tie. He caught every inning of all 56 games. 

From 1989 to 1998, he was a player-manager for Granite City in the Mon-Clair League. He was selected to the all-star team all ten years. His teams won three Mon-Clair League championships and three Valmeyer Tournaments. He was named Manager of the Year three times in the Mon-Clair League. In 2001, DePew was inducted into the Mon-Clair Baseball League Hall of Fame.

DePew coached baseball at Granite City High School for 21 years. He was the assistant baseball coach for eleven years and the head baseball coach for ten years. He was also a teacher. A 1983 graduate of Granite City High, DePew is currently principal of the school. He coached four years at the Gators Baseball Academy in St. Louis. He also coached the St. Louis Pirates traveling team four years.