*This article was originally published on RedRaiderSports on Friday, September 4. You can read it here.

By Billy Watson

RedRaider Sports

One of the latest Texas Tech baseball commits in the class of 2023 comes from Canada’s St. Joan of Arc Catholic Secondary School in Mississauga, Ontario, and plays shortstop for the Canadian Premier Baseball League’s Ontario Blue Jays.

Myles Naylor committed to further his education and play baseball for the Texas Tech Red Raiders on August 25. Naylor is the younger brother of former Tech signee Josh Naylor; who was drafted by the Miami Marlins 12th overall, and Bo Naylor; initially a Texas A&M commit who was selected 29th overall by the Cleveland Indians in the 2018 MLB Draft.

Myles is the third Ontario Blue Jay player to commit to Texas Tech.

Naylor posted a .461 batting average, .537 OBP, 1.174 OPS, .637 SLG, 47 hits, 33 RBI’s, 39 runs, and 35 stolen bases in the 2019 season.

Initially, Naylor was honoured to be considered as a potential recruit for the Big 12 champs, but he was even more excited to have committed to Tech.

Naylor said some of the factors that contributed to his decision were the reputable coaching staff and the reputation of the baseball program itself. The virtual tour he received with coach Tory Stephens impressed Naylor as well.

“Its history of developing great players that contribute to successful seasons,” Naylor said. “Coach (J-Bob Thomas) is awesome. He was receptive to me and made me comfortable and excited about a future at (Tech). I’m also excited about furthering my academics in an environment like TTU.

“The virtual tour I received from Coach Stephens of the facility and learning about their style of guiding players with athletic and personal development really impressed me as well,” Naylor said, “not to mention the amazing new training facility and all the advanced technology that’s used to get players to the next level.”

In his recruiting process, Naylor felt nervous about talking about himself to schools, but he said he felt more comfortable with the more ongoing conversations he had, especially with Thomas.

“The recruiting process with various schools was really a good learning experience,” Naylor said. “I felt like I was talking to a family member because that’s how comfortable and at ease (Thomas) made our interactions. I did have other offers, and it was a tough decision, but in the end, relationships created made the difference.”

Naylor also talked about his brother, Josh, having an impact on his decision to choose the Red Raiders. Myles said Josh was able to fill in any blanks and questions he had since Josh had the in-person experience at Texas Tech.

“Josh only had positive things to say about his recruiting process with Coach Thomas.”

Bo and Josh also played and graduated from the Ontario Blue Jays program and are still connected with the organization. Myles has already been with the Blue Jays for the past four years and has helped with his development and work ethics.

Due to COVID-19, Myles was not able to attend tournaments in the United States, which is where he has played most of them. Some tournaments he was planning to attend prior to the pandemic halting them were the 2020 PG Freshman All-American Games, Future Stars Series, Marucci World Series, as well as other Perfect Game events.

Naylor is excited to be committed to a program that has multiple College World Series appearances and other national-stage reputable recognition. This was Naylor’s tweet announcing his commitment to Texas Tech: