Mercer Island native Matt Boyd was drafted in the 13th round of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft on Tuesday afternoon. Boyd, currently a junior at Oregon State University, was chosen 412th overall by the Cincinnati Reds.
“There was a lot of speculation if I was going to go anywhere from the fifth to the 10th round,” said Boyd. “I was just waiting, all hooked up on the computer and TV with a bunch of guys from the team. I’d been getting lots of calls throughout the day, but when the 10th round hit I was unsure if it was going to happen. I didn’t think the Reds would pull the trigger, but then I heard Boyd, Matthew on the TV and everyone jumped up. They (the Reds) called me right after that.”
A left-handed pitcher, Boyd graduated from Eastside Catholic High School in Sammamish and is a captain this year on the OSU team.
He has played in 81 games with the Beavers, throwing over 125 innings and striking out 94 batters. Boyd has a 11-1 record with a 2.22 ERA making him fifth in OSU career history.
The Beavers have made the NCAA Regional playoffs for the last three years, playing in Gainesville in 2010, Corvallis in 2011, advancing to the 2011 Super Regionals in Nashville. The team was eliminated last weekend from this year’s NCAA tournament, falling to Louisana State University in the Super Regionals in Baton Rouge.
“I’m going to weigh the different options if I go back to school or not,” said the pitcher. “I would really like to win the national title, but playing professional baseball is another dream of mine.”
The signing deadline this year is July 13, almost a month earlier than years previous.
“After finals I plan on coming back to the Island for at least a couple of days,” he said.
Boyd has been named an All-America selection, as well as a All-Pac10 honorable mention player. He played for Team USA last summer, the Collegiate National Team and in the Cape Cod League. Boyd played his freshman year at Mercer Island High School before transferring to Eastside Catholic.
“I’m never going to forget draft day,” he said. While hearing his name called was a highlight of the spring, he said he also wouldn’t trade the experience the OSU team has had this year.
“I’m very close to the team,” he said. “We’ve really bonded and even though we didn’t get as far as we wanted it was great.”
Two other members of the Oregon State team have been drafted, one in the third round and the second in the fifth, also by Cincinnati.
