“He's as high character a person as there is” - Boyd makes an impression in just one year in Murfreesboro - Middle Tennessee State University Athletics

Photo by: Matt Posey/MT Athletic Communications

“He's as high character a person as there is” - Boyd makes an impression in just one year in Murfreesboro

5/11/2023 6:00:00 PM | Baseball

The transfer from Presbyterian has had his best year of his career at the plate in 2023, but might be having an even bigger impact off the field

By: Sam Doughton, MTSU Athletics

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Luke Vinson's walk-off home run against Rice had long settled into the gravel of the construction work beyond the right-center field wall at Reese Smith Jr. Field by the time Jeremiah Boyd made his way over to give his thoughts on the C-USA win.

The Presbyterian grad transfer had a banner day at the plate as the Blue Raiders' designated hitter, going 2-for-5 with a pair of home runs and three RBIs. The kind of day that's made him an instant fan favorite in Murfreesboro, where his 12 home runs entering this weekend's final home series against UAB easily leads the team.

But it wasn't anything baseball related that kept him busy after the walk-off win. It was his cheering section on that Sunday, friends from One Church Calvary, where Boyd has worked as a Student Ministries Intern since moving to Tennessee, who all wanted to say hey to him after the game.

"I haven't been able to see them a lot since the season has been going," Boyd said. "Whenever we're at home, I can go to the church and kind of help out on Sunday nights, but I've missed them a lot."

Boyd had made contact with the church's senior pastor, Steve Willis, thanks to his pastor from back home being friends with Willis. When Willis learned Boyd was interested in getting into Youth Ministry, he helped Boyd make connections there. Soon, Boyd was helping with One Church Calvary's Wednesday Night Worship, helping lead Sunday School classes, doing whatever he could to help the student ministry team out.

The impact he made on the people of One Church Calvary, if there ever was any doubt, was apparent that Sunday. They cheered louder than anyone at Reese Smith Jr. Field when he came up to bat, let alone when his eighth inning home run gave MTSU the lead. Post-game, he interacted with people of all ages from the church, from Willis to the students he helped mentor on those nights this past fall.

"It was something cool for them," Boyd reflected. "Like, I know I haven't been at church in a long time, but I'm still thinking about you guys and I hope I represent well."

Middle Tennessee head coach Jerry Meyers has known Boyd for a long time, dating back to when Boyd would attend Meyers and assistant coach Kevin Nichols' camps when he was in middle school. A son of a MLB scout (Quincy Boyd, who's currently a scout for the Baltimore Orioles), the younger Boyd had built a reputation for himself as a person with the MTSU staff.

"When he became available, we knew the character of the kid we were going to get," Meyers said. "Well, he's a man now."

On the field, Boyd appeared in 129 games for the Blue Hose and had a year of eligibility left thanks to the COVID season of 2020, which is how he was able to play for MTSU this season. A catcher that had some pop, Meyers expected to work Boyd into the catcher rotation to work with the Blue Raiders' young pitching staff, with some games at DH as well. When both Briggs Rutter and Boyd started the year hot at the plate, he kept playing both in the lineup, with Rutter the primary catcher and Boyd the primary DH.

In 2023, Boyd has blown blast his previous career highs in a season in nearly every stat with two weekend series to play. He's more the doubled his best season for home runs (12, previous high of 5), nearly tripling his career best season in runs (36 in 2023, 13 in 2019), all while slashing .320/.422/.562, all three numbers easily the best of his career. Adjustments from hitting coach Kevin Nichols have been key, Boyd said after the two-home run day against Rice.

"(Nichols) said I would much rather you look foolish on an off-speed pitch than look foolish on a fastball," Boyd said. "When he said that, it really helped. From then on, I was going to be out in front of everything and I'm just going to allow my ability to adjust take over."

Meyers said as big as the impact his bat has had on the MTSU lineup, one of the major reasons he earned Male Newcomer of the Year honors at this year's Raider's Choice Awards, it's been his mentorship off the field that's had the biggest impact on the young team.

"He took the young guys, as many freshmen as we had, he's their granddad or something," Meyers said. "He's telling them where they need to go, he's playing ping-pong with them, helping them get adjusted. Because he remembered what it was like when he was coming up."

That innate sense of mentorship clearly drives Boyd, whether that be with his teammates at MTSU, or with the students he helps out with at One Church Calvary. And it's what's made his one year in Murfreesboro one of the most impactful a person could hope for.

"He's been a huge addition for sure, and not because of how many home runs he's hit and what he's done offensively," Meyers said. "He's as high character a person as there is."