Mississippi State's recruiting momentum continued into the weekend as the Diamond Dogs picked up their fourth commitment of the week with former Duke infielder Wil Hoyle.
The Durham, NC, native prepped at Charles E. Jordan High School and was a 38th round selection by the Oakland A's in the 2017 draft, but rather than going pro, he elected to play for his hometown school.
Hoyle finished graduate school at Duke this year, and he knew it was time for something new.
"I always knew I had an extra year of eligibility since I redshirted my freshman year. My degree at Duke was one year long so when I finished that it felt like a natural ending there and I decided to explore other options."
One of those options was Mississippi State, which Hoyle says "sells itself."
"Mississippi State really sells itself. I know Jake Mangum really well and we've spent some time together and he spoke so highly of it. When I was looking for other places to play it was certainly towards the top of the list."
"Jake's dad and my dad have worked together our whole lives. I've grown up knowing his family and we were down at Cressey Sports Performance in Florida the summer during Covid and we spent a ton of time together down there."
During his recruiting process, Mississippi State Hitting Coach Jake Gautreau was the one to reach out to Hoyle.
"I love how personable he is, we seem to really get along. One main thing I like is how passionate he is about developing hitters. We already talked about what I can improve on and how I can improve on it and things that will set me up for success once I get down to Starkville. I'm looking forward to being coached by him a lot."
After redshirting in 2018 and seeing limited action in 2019, the switch-hitting middle infielder broke into the lineup in 2020 and played 13 games before the season was cut short due to Covid-19. During that stretch, Hoyle batted .265 with a .824 OPS, one home run, and four RBIs in 34 at-bats.
In 2021, Hoyle played 47 games for the Blue Devils, and in 110 at-bats, the 5'9" 2nd baseman hit .227 with a .744 OPS with three home runs and 13 RBIs. Hoyle did a good job of making pitchers work and grinding at-bats as he posted a .344 on-base percentage and 11.9% walk rate. As a redshirt junior in 2022, Hoyle hit .201 with a .632 OPS, four home runs, and 17 RBIs. He had a .333 batting average and a walk rate of 12.9% and converted 12 of 15 stolen base attempts.
Mississippi State loses some of their infield pieces from last year's team with RJ Yeager and Tanner Leggett graduating, and Davis Meche entering the transfer portal, so getting a guy like Hoyle was an important addition for Chris Lemonis.
"Mississippi State wants to get the program back to where its supposed to be. They hope that I can help them win games and I hope I can help them win games. That was the biggest piece for me and that was what really excited me."
"My main goal is just to help Mississippi State win baseball games, no matter what role that is, I just want to fill it to the best of my ability and give everything I have for Mississippi State this last season."
Hoyle is the fourth position player the Bulldogs have added as he'll join Mercer centerfielder Bill Knight, Samford outfielder Colton Ledbetter, and New Orleans 2nd baseman Amani Larry. State has also brought in a trio of right-handed pitchers in Memphis' Landon Gartman, Ball State's Nate Dohm, and Texas' Aaron Nixon.
