With baseball season past the halfway point, the Wildcats will look to gain momentum for a possible postseason bid in Omaha, Nebraska. One player they will need to rely on is shortstop transfer Louis Boyd.
The transfer student from North Vancouver, British Columbia, has helped the Wildcats baseball team accumulate a 23-14 record in his first year in Division I and is batting .234 with 18 hits and three triples so far this season.
The shortstop grew up idolizing New York Yankees player Derek Jeter for his even-keel demeanor and his reliability in any situation. Like Jeter, Boyd wants to be relied on for his confidence and ability to come through for his teammates.
“I like to bring a lot of energy to the team and make sure that in … tough circumstances there’s someone standing there saying, ‘We can do this,’” Boyd said.
After graduating from Sutherland Secondary in Vancouver, British Columbia, Boyd missed the 2013 season after a groundball to the head gave him a concussion and nearly stopped him from playing altogether.
“I was told I wouldn’t play again during that redshirt year, so I did not think about baseball at all,” Boyd said. “I got a lucky appointment and I was able to get cleared and trained with my high-school coach.”
Boyd attended Cochise College in Douglas, Arizona in 2014, and would take the league by storm. There, he lead the team in batting average with .343 while also compiling 38 RBI’s and 52 runs.
When he is not battling with Pac-12 Conference opponents or honing his craft at Hi Corbett Field, Boyd maintains a 4.0 GPA, despite the crammed schedule he has. He says school is the easiest transition from junior college to Division I, and he’s handling that well, too.
“School does come pretty easy to me, but definitely the busier schedule here takes a toll on the homework and staying on top of academics,” Boyd said.
Boyd notes the lack of time a D-1 athlete has is the hardest transition, but he is handling the condensed schedule so far.
“I had a lot more free time at junior college, [but] it’s important to understand you have an awesome opportunity to get a degree at a great school,” Boyd said.
While he has been handling the transition well, his teammates have helped make the process easier for him to come in and perform.
“A lot of the seniors, guys like Nathan Bannister, just seeing what he does and how he handles his business, [he] is a great guy to look up to,” Boyd said.
Boyd lives by the motto “Good players work until they get it right, great players work until they cannot get it wrong,” and attributes his talent to superior work ethic.
“I may not be the most talented guy in the world, but as long as I’m working as hard as I can, I can perfect any skill,” Boyd said.
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