Payton Beyer is a former three-sport star and future college football player. Today, he’s neither of those.

And loving it.

BY JON WEISBROD

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It takes a special type of high school athlete to get recruited by multiple football programs at the Division II level.

So what type of athlete does it take to get recruited by multiple football programs at the Division II level and draw attention as a potential college baseball prospect?

Well, that takes an athlete like Payton Beyer.

Graduating from Owatonna High School in 2021 as one of the most-accomplished three-sport athletes in recent school history, Beyer originally committed to play football at D-II power Winona State University with the plan of joining the baseball team as a walk-on.

Well, that was the plan, at least. But as they say, often the best laid plans go awry.

And things started going awry pretty quickly for Payton Beyer.

Within a few weeks of committing to the WSU football program, long-time Warriors’ head coach, Tom Sawyer, announced his retirement and was ultimately replaced by former Division I assistant at South Dakota State University, Brian Bergstrom.

And then, another change, or “major shuffle” as Beyer calls it.

On June 20, 2022, Winona State announced that Seth Wing would replace long-time skipper, Kyle Pooch, as the head of the baseball program.

Yep, that’s right. Both coaches that recruited him to Winona State had retired within a matter of months.

“Yeah, that was pretty crazy,” Beyer admits. “It was good to get some new blood in there, but there was a lot going on. There was a lot to think about.”

Here is the rest if Payton Beyer’s story, in his own words, and don’t worry, he’s landed on his feet.

JW: For some people who don’t know your story, it’s a little crazy. You were one of the best wide receivers in Owatonna history and it was assumed by many that you’d play football in college, especially after you committed. But then it was baseball and football — maybe that was the plan the whole time — and then you get to campus and both (head) coaches that recruited you have since retired. What was that like?

PB: Ultimately committed to Winona State (for football) and then found out a couple weeks later that (WSU head coach) Tom Sawyer is retiring and I was like ‘oh my gosh, really?’ Then I went through the football season and let that play out. Then baseball season came around and a couple weeks into that season, I found out the same thing about our baseball coach. It was sort of a big shuffle going into each season, which it was good to know there was new blood coming in, but then there was some old ways and old traditions that were lost. That was more on the baseball side, honestly. We had old coach (Kyle Pooch), he was a pretty laid-back guy and more old school. It was, ‘hey, you guys know how to play the sport, no need to overthink it.’ The whole shuffle was tough for some of the older guys, but I think it ended up benefiting the team and the program.

JON WEISBROD: Talk about your roll with the baseball team this season and talk about this past spring and how things went as a first-year player?

PAYTON BEYER: Yeah, so, last year I reshirted for baseball and was just kind of setting myself up for this year. Coming into this year, in the fall, I kind of had a little more of an iffy fall and was thinking I would be more of a defensive replacement, or at least that’s what I was thinking. Then as I got more comfortable in the spring and kept going with it, that’s what led to me having more confidence and I saw myself as a hitter and the coach saw me as a hitter. Ultimately, as I kept performing well enough I suppose I earned myself more at-bats and more starts and our coach really liked to mess with matchups for righty-lefty hitter and so we had a lefty centerfielder and I am a righty. So we would flip-flop a little — play the matchup, play the hot streak.

JW: You said something changed in the fall, what was it in your opinion? Was it a mental thing, or something more with your swing?

PB: I think it was more so on the (mental) side. We have a hitting coach (at Winona State), Jordan Zimmerman. He’s more of a part-time coach but was really dedicated to trying to help us at hitters and he changed my swing up a little. But I think the biggest thing  was the mental aspect and telling myself ‘I can hit the ball.’ I didn’t just lose that ability. It was mental, and that was probably the biggest thing I needed to overcome and get back in a groove again.

JW: Rewinding just a little, even though you excelled in three sports, it’s safe to say football was what you were ‘known’ for in high school and received the majority of your attention as a recruit. Then you get to Winona State and the first thing you do is redshirt. What was that like? What was your thought process throughout that first fall season on campus?

PB: To be honest, I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into. At the time, it was a bit of a whirlwind. But once I got into it and got into a flow and after our fall camp I started to find my ground. Overall, I think my redshirt year was a lot like everyone else’s at any Division II school. You’re more of, how do I say this? You’re more of a number than anything. All-in-all, it was pretty good. I was more introduced to the weight room and getting more disciplined when it comes to eating and getting enough rest.

JW: Fellow Owatonna graduate, football player and college baseball player, Alec Holcomb, said he loved football game days, didn’t love practices. That is ultimately why he decided to pursue baseball instead of football at the next level. Is that a fair assessment in your case as well?

PB: Yes, definitely. Practice for football in college is different. By a lot. I don’t know of that made my decision easier, but it definitely played a role. It is different and a lot tougher than game day. There is so much more that goes into it than what happens under the lights.

JW: A lot of college recruits don’t necessarily understand just how much of a jump it is from college to the Division II level. They think it’s maybe just a little above D-III where there’s no athletic scholarships. But that’s not the case. It’s a huge jump. Sometimes high school recruits don’t learn that until they get to campus. What was that process like for you? How much did you know prior to showing up at Winona State?

PB: It was eye-opening for sure. I know my first year, it was the first year after COVID, there was some guys on the roster that were creeping up on what felt like their eighth year on the team and then there’s me. I’m just this raw eighteen year-old freshman and I’m thinking ‘what am I supposed to do about this?’ It was a learning experience all around. I mean, we had Division I transfers, former guys that played in the Big Ten, we had some of the best high school players from their state and it’s easy to get lost in the mix. Division II football is a whole different level.

JW: You don’t bat well above .300 without stringing a few hits together. Do you remember your first hot streak at Winona State? Tell me about that.

PB: Yeah, we were actually playing against Matt Seykora at SMSU and actually in that game the final score was something like 17-16 and we combined for close to 40 hits between the teams. That game I had four hits and that’s when I felt like I could do this at that level and boosted my confidence enough to where I could string some things together and started to become more consistent. It helped with my self-confidence as well as getting my foot in the door and secure a regular role in centerfield.

JW: What was the biggest difference in pitching compared to high school and Division II?

PB: I would say the biggest difference is every pitcher can hit their spot. Where in high school some pitchers might think they can, and some do, but it’s far less common. In college, at the D-II level, every pitcher can. Then you’ll get the occasional pitcher (in college) that are throwing in the 90s and then you’ll get the guy who throws a curveball that starts at your head and ends at your ankles. It’s a huge range of what you’re going to see as a batter and how it’s going to look. So all about adjusting. My first couple at-bats were definitely that, they were an adjustment. Let’s just say it was a little different — well, a lot different — than high school.