Just six years after Orange Beach baseball fielded its first team, junior catcher Colton Boyd made program history by becoming its first Division I commit, announcing his pledge to Southern Miss in late September.

The Makos' backstop is just the third commit in the 2027 class for the Golden Eagles. He will join a storied program in Hattiesburg that has 21 NCAA tournament appearances, one College World Series appearance and 13 conference titles (regular season and tournament combined).

For Boyd, the decision to commit to Southern Miss felt right from the start.

"From the get go, when the coaches talked to me, I felt at home," Boyd said. "When September came around and I could actually go on the visit there, something about that place clicked. I just know that their coaching staff is going to help me. Their facilities are great, and I just want to go win. I think they're a great program — I'm glad that I chose that place. I know that the Lord gave me that path, and I'm following it. I'm ready to get after it for the four years I go there."

ONE OF THE BEST AROUND

Ranked No. 9 overall in Alabama and the state's No. 2 catcher by Prep Baseball, Boyd proved last season why he's among the top players in the state. Through 20 of the Makos' 23 games shown on MaxPreps, he led the team with a .383 batting average, 21 hits and seven doubles.

In an era where top prospects often commit before starting high school, Boyd's journey looked a little different. His recruitment surged only after an impressive performance at the Prep Baseball Future Games this summer.

"I got offers especially after the future games happened this summer," Boyd said. "That really started the flow of the coaches starting to talk to me. Then when August hit, I had a bunch of coaches reaching out. At first, you are kind of overwhelmed. You don't know what to expect — I'm just grateful that all these coaches talked to me. It was definitely a time where I had to talk to my parents about it, talk to coach Hoyle about it, and just pray about it over and over."

That's where Boyd earned his top-10 overall ranking from Prep Baseball. Competing with Team Alabama, the junior delivered standout performances both in games and during the skills showcase. He led the team with a 79 mph catcher velocity and recorded a 100.3 mph exit velocity at the plate, fourth-best among Alabama players. Boyd was one of just four players from the state to top the 100-mph exit velo mark and also ranked third in both sweet spot percentage (55%) and average bat speed (75.7 mph).

Boyd said his confidence at the Future Games helped him showcase the skills that ultimately earned him a Division I opportunity.

"I went out there and I felt really confident," Boyd said. "I played extremely well. I think there are some things I could have done better, but at the plate and behind the plate, I thought I did really well. You got guys my age throwing 94-95 (mph) — going against those arms early definitely set the tone that I needed to get my swing off. It kind of just put me in a good spot, because I know that's what I'm going to be facing when I get older."

Now that his commitment is finalized, Boyd said he feels relief — and motivation.

"That definitely took a lot of weight off my shoulders," Boyd said. "Now I get to just go play, not worry about anything and keep encouraging players on our team to keep going after their dreams — Now that I finally did it, I can't hold off the gas pedal. I just have to keep going."

CARVING A PATH 

Orange Beach head coach Josh Hoyle knows how to get his players to the next level. In 16 years of coaching, he's helped more than 30 athletes commit to play college baseball and watched two advance to the professional ranks.

A former Division I player himself at Jacksonville State, Hoyle was part of three conference championship teams during his collegiate career. Now in his fourth year at Orange Beach, he becomes a part of program history by coaching the Makos' first Division I baseball commit.

"I think it's just a nod to what we're doing," Hoyle said. "We're on the right track as far as developing kids, and what we're trying to instill in them and develop as a culture. I think the Division I deal now is so much harder because of the portal, the average age of Division I players now is higher than it's ever been. So as a high school coach, it proposes some challenges for us as far as getting our kids on to the next level."

Hoyle has coached the Makos' catcher every season that the two have been with the program. While talking about the commitment to USM, the Orange Beach skipper said Boyd's work ethic and approach have stood out since he joined the program as an eighth grader.

"It's kind of a pat on the back to Colton with how he's went about his business since he was in the eighth grade," Hoyle said. "He's a grinder. He's been in the cages, he's been in the weight room. He works when everybody else is sleeping. This was a long time coming. You kind of always knew that it was going to happen, you just didn't know which school was going to be lucky enough to get him."

When asked about what makes Boyd a special player, Hoyle didn't mince his words when pointing to leadership and presence. The head coach compared his catcher to New York Yankees legend Derek Jeter, saying Boyd is just one of those consistent guys who never gets too high, and never gets too low. 

Hoyle praised Boyd several times and in many ways, stating he is just one of those guys that you want leading your dugout each and every week. 

"He checks a lot of boxes," Hoyle said. "From the physicality standpoint, the baseball IQ, all of those things. If you look up a Division I catcher in the dictionary, his picture is going to be sitting there beside it. But the thing that I think is probably the most remarkable, that stands out, is this makeup. Some of the stuff that doesn't show up necessarily in the box score every night. He's just one of those guys that you want in your dugout, that you want on your team. Behind the plate for us, when he's back there, we got a chance to win games because of how he goes about his business, how he handles our pitchers and how he leads — Who he is off the field, to me, is what is most impressive about him."

Plenty of people on the Gulf Coast, around Baldwin County and even state-wide know what Boyd can do on the diamond. As for what Southern Miss fans can expect, Boyd said he plans to bring energy and leadership from day one in Hattiesburg.

"They're going to be getting a guy that wants to win," Boyd said. "Even if we lose, I'm going to bounce back and I'm going to hold the guys and the team to the standard. I want to encourage the players to not have their head down and keep going. If there's a guy down, I like to pick them up. I'm a big sportsmanship guy. I like my sportsmanship to be high. If I don't have it that day then so be it, I gotta get after it the next day. They're gonna be getting all of me, and they're gonna be getting a dog."