Barrie teen hits it out of the park both on and off the field

The old stereotype of the “dumb jock” is one many young athletes today are proving needs to be left in the past.

Sixteen-year-old Austin Boylan is one of those athletes, and is proving hard work and determination can yield a home run both on and off the field.

The Barrie teen, who dons No. 8 on the back of his Ontario Blue Jays 16U elite baseball jersey, has only been playing the sport for a few years and is already at the top of his game.

“I was a big hockey guy,” he said, telling BarrieToday he broke his jaw just prior to the pandemic — both situations putting playing on hold. “I was stuck there — broken jaw, COVID, no hockey — so one day I went out and bought a hitting net and just practised every day.

“Ever since I was little, I could throw hard and I could hit hard and, as I kept practising, I just kept getting better and better, and started to think this may be a thing.”

As his skills improved, Boylan began to record himself and even sent in a video for an online tryout with the Ontario Astros, which is part of the Canadian Premier Baseball League.

From there, he was invited to attend an in-person tryout and he made the team. He said he was surprised when he learned he’d made the cut as he’d been playing for only a short time. 

Boylan, who currently plays for the Ontario Blue Jays, returned Monday night from competing as a member of Team Canada at the elite Prep Baseball Report tournament in Georgia, where the team went undefeated until the semifinals, before losing to Arkansas.

Despite the loss, he is proud of how he played.

“I went six for nine. For Canada, I got the most hits and did the most damage,” he said. “I surprised myself, to be honest, and I rose to the occasion down there.”

Boylan, who will start Grade 11 at Bill Crothers Secondary School — an athletic-based high school in Unionville — has goals of making the Junior National Team as well as earning an athletic scholarship to a Division 1 university.

He also hopes to one day follow in the footsteps of his favourite players — including Toronto Blue Jays outfielder George Springer — and get drafted to play pro, preferably with the Toronto Blue Jays.

“At university, I want to study athletic therapy so that if I don’t make it or I get injured, I am still around the sport, helping athletes develop, heal and grow,” he said, adding his goal is to attend the University of Tennessee.

His dad, Jason Boylan, said as a parent, he couldn’t be more proud of his son.

“COVID killed the hockey situation for a lot of kids. He said he wanted to try baseball, so we went out and got him the gear he needed. He trained, working really hard, and started working out at the cages here in town. He’s always liked baseball, and being an athlete is being an athlete. His mother and I are very proud of him,” he said.

The teen doesn’t work hard only on the field. He maintains a 4.0 grade point average (GPA) in school and is one of the top prospects in the country.

“That’s where I am proud. My rule is 90 per cent. If you can be smart on a baseball field, then you’ve got to be smart in the classroom and that’s what we’ve been drilling into him. If you want to get into a good university, they’re going to be looking at grades first,” his dad said. “We’ve been to a few showcases recently and … the first question they ask is, ‘What’s your GPA?’ You could be the best baseball player in the world, but you’ve got to have smarts.”

His son learned Monday night he had been invited to the PBR ProCase Tour in Toronto, an invitation-only event for draft-eligible players, which will have all major league scouts in attendance.

“Things are just blowing up for this kid,” said his dad.