When Katelyn Boyd first set foot on the field at Farrington Stadium in the fall of 2008, she knew immediately that things had changed.
This wasn’t high school. It wasn’t club softball. This was Pac-10 softball — what she had wanted for so long.
“I remember thinking ‘Wow, this is nothing like club ball,’” Boyd said.
Since her first practice and the realization that she was on a whole new level of competition at ASU, a drive to be the best in every aspect of the game has molded the sophomore shortstop into a triple threat.
“She’s an outstanding baserunner, outstanding defensive player, and she’s having a great year offensively,” ASU coach Clint Myers said. “That’s just who she is.”
Recruited early on by numerous schools, Boyd had plenty of options. She remembers receiving more than 10 letters on the first day recruiting rules allowed schools to send them.
Michigan pushed hard. Her coaches were talking to UCLA. Nearly every school in the Pac-10 made some sort of contact.
“It was kind of overwhelming,” Boyd said. “My mom and I had no idea what we were doing.”
Boyd remembers that the first call came from ASU associate head coach Robert Wagner. ASU fit what she had always wanted — a Pac-10 school close to her Phoenix home.
Boyd wasted no time making her presence felt in maroon and gold. She achieved her first goal when she earned a starting spot. She held it all year, starting all 66 of ASU’s games in 2009.
As a freshman, Boyd hit .306 with a team-leading 60 RBI. She earned a spot on the All-Pac-10 Freshman First Team and All-Pac-10 Second Team.
Boyd didn’t get complacent with her early success and she kept working to get even better, constantly upping the ante.
“Potential is endless,” Boyd said. “You can always get better.”
Now, just over halfway through her second season, Boyd has displayed her versatility and skill on all fronts.
“She’s really come a long way,” Myers said.
With remarkable numbers, Boyd’s offense is easily the flashiest part of her well-rounded game. She is currently hitting .442 with a team-leading 32 RBI and 12 home runs.
But Boyd says she tries to ignore statistics.
“Things you do right that can help your team win aren’t always on the stat sheet,” Boyd said. “Stats play with my mind, so I try not to look at them.”
Myers credited Boyd’s discipline and patience for her success at the plate. Her teammates take notice of her ability at the plate as well. Junior third baseman Krista Donnenwirth, another of ASU’s offensive powers, said Boyd’s offensive ability is her greatest asset.
“Her swing is as smooth as I’ve seen anyone’s,” Donnenwirth said. “She’s a huge threat in the lineup.”
Donnenwirth also points out, though, that Boyd wouldn’t be as valuable to the team as she is without noteworthy talent inside and outside the batter’s box.
Looking at her current .953 fielding percentage and team-high six errors, Boyd’s defensive prowess doesn’t seem very impressive. But consider she’s the only infielder on the team to start every game this season and that she leads the team in assists, and the numbers look much better.
“Shortstop is one of the hardest positions to play,” Donnenwirth said. “They’re involved in every play.”
Donnenwirth said a play rarely goes by in which Boyd isn’t talking. She talks to other infielders and the outfielders, serving as the defense’s director, constantly giving it cues and reminders.
Boyd takes pride in her work ethic, calling it her greatest strength. Whether it’s chasing down a bloop hit that most shortstops let drop in or taking extra swings in practice, Boyd won’t allow herself to waste a minute.
“I don’t come out here just to goof around,” Boyd said. “I want to accomplish something. Even if I have a bad day I want to learn something.”
Donnenwirth said other players admire Boyd’s “get there early, stay late” work ethic and have come to see her as a leader.
“She’s not a real vocal person, but she kind of leads by actions,” Myers said.
Laughing as she describes herself off the field as “soft-spoken” and “not very outgoing,” Boyd says she’s been to just one party in her college career — a team event. She’s content to just keep it simple and focus on what matters most to her.
“School and softball,” Boyd said. “That’s pretty much my life right now.”
Boyd’s self-proclaimed quiet, easygoing persona is a stark contrast to her aggressive demeanor on the base paths. Boyd’s 14 stolen bases are second most on the team and match her total from all of last season.
“It’s important because we’ve only got a couple [of players] that can do that,” Myers said of Boyd’s baserunning.
Donnenwirth called Boyd one of the team’s smartest and fastest baserunners. Only junior centerfielder Lesley Rogers has more stolen bases with 15.
Despite all her talents, Boyd remains humble and will be first to point out the flaws in her game.
She knows that if anything is holding her back, it’s probably herself. While she’s far from “head case”, Boyd frequently gets inside her own head.
“Sometimes being a smart player is bad because you’re thinking so much,” Boyd said. “You don’t allow your talent to come out naturally.”
Even with her humble manner and hesitance to compliment herself, Boyd knows she’s gotten better since arriving at ASU.
“I think I’ve come a long way since I first set foot here, but I have a long way to go as well,” Boyd said. “I’m going to keep working hard like I just walked in here.”
With the remainder of this season and two more years ahead for Boyd, those around her see nothing but great things. Donnenwirth thinks she can be an All-American. Myers thinks she can make history.
“She’s got the chance to be one of the great softball players in ASU history,” Myers said.
Boyd’s vision of the future is a bit different. She wants to eclipse her most memorable moment as a Sun Devil by making the Women’s College World Series again — and winning it.
While the level of competition has changed, as have her abilities, Boyd knows that the game hasn’t changed, and she doesn’t get lost in her own ambitions.
“It may be the last four years I get to play,” Boyd said. “I have to make the most of it.”
Reach the reporter at tlockman@asu.edu
