Oak Hall baseball coach Kevin Maris described his senior catcher, Brody Beaupre, as a “unique player.”

“When he first came to us in the ninth grade, he came into a situation where we had lost our starting catcher and you get in programs where you might not see the field until your junior or senior year sometimes and, fortunate enough for Brody, I was able to use him as a freshman catcher,” he said.

All that experience, which allowed him to develop at that level and push himself to be a little better athlete and not get stuck at a JV level for a couple of years, paid off.

On Wednesday, Beaupre signed his letter of intent to play baseball at Florida Southern College in Lakeland, an NCAA-II powerhouse.

“It’s very exciting,” Beaupre said. “Obviously I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time, working hard for it. It’s nice to be able to celebrate with all of my friends, family, coaches, everyone who supported me along the way who helped me get to this point.”

The Moccasins (22-6 overall and 7-2 in the Sunshine State Conference), who are currently ranked 13th in the latest National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Top 25 Poll, have won nine national titles.

“I’ve gone down there a couple of times over the summer for different church-related events and every time I’m on campus I’m like, ‘man, this just feels right, this is where I envision myself,’ and I got in academically,” he said. “This is where I want to play baseball too.

“I was able to go down there for a showcase in December and meet with the coaches and talk with them and I liked them, they came over from St. Leo University so they’re starting fresh, so it will be nice to grow with the program for sure.”

Beaupre, who has been playing baseball since his T-ball days in the backyard with his dad, started playing travel ball when he was 13 (for Maris).

But it was during his first rec ball season, when he was 11, that he started playing behind the plate.

“Our starting catcher broke his wrist, and I was tired of sitting the bench, so coach asked if anyone wanted to catch and I jumped on the opportunity and I decided this is where I need to be, I love it,” he said.

In addition to the opportunity to play right away, he was also drawn to the chance to participate in all facets of the game.

“You’re just involved in every play,” he said. “I love being able to influence the game in so many ways, being able to call pitches, lead the team on the field, just be that guy for the team.”

As a junior, he finished with a .977 fielding percentage with only three errors in 131 total chances as the Eagles (13-6) won the Class 2A-District 4 title with a wild 12-8 win against rival St. Francis Catholic Academy.

He also batted .300 with nine runs batted in and was a Mainstreet Daily News All Area honorable mention selection. Beaupre is batting .286 this season and is second on the team with 11 RBI.

“Brody is very competitive,” Maris said. “He plays with a lot of passion. He’s got a good understanding of the game. Being a catcher, you’ve got to have awareness of what’s going on at all times off every pitch, I mean four years catcher at the varsity level is pretty unique. He just brings good leadership to the program and the way he carries himself and represents Oak Hall baseball has made us proud.”

This season he is currently third on the team with a .891 fielding percentage after an injury forced him to play at first base until recently, when he returned to his regular catching duties.  

“His skills athletically and defensive skills are up there with the best of them around the state,” Maris said. “His arm strength is fantastic. He can throw to any base at any time in the game with accuracy. He’s a brick wall back there as a defensive catcher. He’s a coach’s dream to have back there, no pass balls, you win a lot of games just off of that.”

Beaupre is looking forward to the next level.

“It’s definitely going to be a huge adjustment going from high school pitching to college pitching so making that adjustment for velocity and the movement that those guys will have, also faster runners, the whole game is just faster paced at that level but it’s going to be a challenge and I’m excited for it.”