Senior starting pitcher Dylan Loy (14) and the Pigeon Forge Tigers faced the Sevier County Smoky Bears in a non-district matchup on Friday, March 24, 2023, in Sevierville, Tennessee. Pigeon Forge won 1-0. (Photo by Danny Parker)
BY JESSE SMITHEY
The bookends to Dylan Loy’s high school baseball career left plenty to be desired.
All the chapters in between, though … legendary.
The 6-foot-1 left-hander is now about to embark on his journey into college baseball, as he reports to campus at the University of Tennessee on July 9.
But perhaps the final accolade of his storied prep days is this: Loy is once again 5Star Preps Baseball Pitcher of the Year.
Just as he was in 2021.
And like he was in 2022.
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This final time around, in 2023, he 1-upped himself and basically couldn’t be touched.
Opponents batted just .097 against him and he recorded a minuscule 0.09 ERA.
Loy struck out 169 batters and walked only 11, surrendering just 23 hits and one earned run while compiling an 11-1 record.
“I see every award, even though it has my name on it, there are so many people involved in those awards. It excites me and it excites them, too,” Loy said. “Everyone on our team, they know they’ve put in work. And I know that they’ve put in work. And I know I couldn’t have gotten any of those awards without them or the coaching staff behind us.”
Loy could have easily been a candidate for 5Star Preps Offensive Player of the Year, as well. He hit .549 with 13 doubles, 35 RBIs and 31 walks. He struck out just one time in 120 plate appearances.
Loy’s pitching prowess, however, is what will be remembered.
It’s what produced Gatorade State Player of the Year honors in 2022 and 2023, as well as Mr. Baseball awards in 2021 and 2023.
And it’s what Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello and his staff will want him to focus solely on in college.
Loy will have to put the bat aside.
“I throw lefty and I bat righty. My left elbow is right over the plate, right out in front,” Loy said.
“I believe the stick is going up for good now.”
THE BEGINNING
Then-sophomore pitcher Dylan Loy (14) and the Pigeon Forge Tigers faced the Nolensville Knights in a 2021 TSSAA Class AA winners bracket semifinal in Smyrna, Tennessee. Pigeon Forge won 4-0. (Photo by Danny Parker)
The first start of Loy’s high school career will always be an indelible memory for him.
Season opener. Against Anderson County.
Held on March 12, 2020.
Loy won’t just remember it for having double-digit strikeouts that day or because Pigeon Forge still lost, 2-0.
Covid-19 shut down his and the Tigers’ season just a couple days later.
A freshman season with great promise was lost for Loy after just one start.
Still, travel ball allowed him a chance to resume pitching a few months later.
But as the Coronavirus persisted through the spring of 2020 and into the summer, Loy’s father’s health would not allow him to travel with Dylan when Dylan’s summer league team began play. So Dylan Loy and his mother, Nichole, made the rounds.
Dylan Loy’s career trajectory resumed and skyrocketed.
“We had a great year that year. We were playing against our older team, which was No. 1 in the nation. I threw an inning against them and did really well,” Loy recalled. “I got college looks and everything.
“That’s when I committed to Tennessee, that summer of 2020. So coming into high school, I had confidence of what I had done already, but it was still a whole new game. … It was more emotional (than travel ball). You’re attached to the guys. You’re trying to win it for them.”
Loy handled all the life obstacles and newfound recruiting attention well.
As a sophomore in the Spring of 2021, Loy proved his ability in a full season. He went 13-1 with a 0.42 ERA and 164 strikeouts, helping Pigeon Forge finish state runner-up in Class 2A.
He led the Tigers back to the 2A championship round in 2022, thanks to a 12-1 mark, a 0.59 ERA and 126 strikeouts against just 20 walks.
Loy reached All-American status by Perfect Game as a senior this past spring. He threw a no-hitter in his first start of the season. He averaged just 1.0 hits allowed in his first four starts.
He tossed a perfect game May 12 in a five-inning, 16-0 postseason elimination game win. He needed just 66 pitches to complete the task, the effort sending Pigeon Forge to the Class 2A state sectionals.
But that’s where his high school career concluded. Pigeon Forge fell at Sweetwater in a three-game sectional series. Following the loss on May 18 that ousted the Tigers from postseason contention, Loy found it hard to walk off the field.
He had played with some guys on Pigeon Forge for more than a decade.
He had state championship hopes dashed.
He had his varsity days end with a substantial sting, just as it had started.
The moment was a lot to process. And Loy didn’t rush it.
“I don’t think I’ve ever stayed on a field like that,” Loy said.
“I was there an hour after the game. Very emotional.”
THE NEXT STEP
Loy is part of a good-sized local contingent of baseball talents who are pledged to Tennessee.
Joining him at Tennessee, from the Class of 2023, will be Daniel Parris (Catholic, RHP/INF) and Ashton Sulack (Farragut, LHP).
Coming in 2024 will be: Brooks Wright (Bearden, C), Brennon Seigler (Farragut, OF), Jaxon Walker (Loudon, OF), Beau Revord (Jefferson County, RHP), and Stratton Scott (Farragut, RHP).
Tennessee is coming off its second College World Series appearance in a three-year span, and Loy is entering the fray there hoping to garner as many opportunities that he can in his freshman season.
He’s continuing to address his frame, efforting to bulk up to the 200-pound range.
Right now, Loy is around 188.
The dogged mentality that Loy uses on the mound and in training will assuredly get him there.
And it’s what will most likely spur on more successes to come.
“My short-term goals are to get innings and help the team progress and win ball games,” Loy said. “I’m focusing on getting there and getting better.
“(Tennessee) had some big-time arms leave up there and have had some big-time arms come in, too.”