Joey Boylston was among the first students to enroll as a freshman at Oceanside Collegiate Academy in 2016, before the school even had a home to call its own. He followed his lacrosse coach, Tom Harris, in becoming a Landshark and never looked back.
“I went to Oceanside with a group of friends when I learned that Tom Harris and Charlie Stubbs were going to be coaching there,” Boylston said. “The first year in the McLellandville Building was interesting, to say the least, but I really liked the smaller school. The friends I made there are still some of my best friends in life.”
Boylston played both football and lacrosse at OCA and was a standout at both sports. He was All-Region at both tight end and defensive end as a senior on the football team while also earning All-Lowcountry and All-Lower State honors. He helped the team to the lower state finals.
While he was a football standout, he was a star on the lacrosse field. He was an Under Armour All-American as well as a first team All-State performer, helping OCA to the first two of their three state titles in lacrosse. His consistent play, which included starting every game of his OCA career, earned him a scholarship to the University of Utah.
“I was late in getting recruited, but I was so excited to go to the University of Utah,” Boylston said. “The weather there is not exactly what a kid from Charleston is used to, but we had access to all best gear and an indoor practice facility.”
Consistency continued to be Boylston’s hallmark at Utah, earning a start in his first game as a freshman and starting every game (59) throughout his career. He was a two-time All-Conference selection for the Utes (2023 & 2024), finishing his career among the top five players in program history in season and career turnovers caused and career ground balls. He was also named to the ASUN All-Tournament team in 2024.
Over three seasons of play in the ASUN, the Utes posted a 22-1 conference record while going 34-13 overall.
In addition to his athletic accomplishments, he was twice named to the PAC-12 academic honor roll. He received his undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering and is currently working toward getting his professional engineering license.
“I am truly honored to be a member of the inaugural class of the OCA Sports Hall of Fame,” Boylston said. “I have stayed active around the school as much as I can, but I am focused now on getting my engineering license. I have so many people to thank for helping me to accomplish all that I have so far.”
Joey is the son of David and Colleen Boylston. His older sister, Maddie, played college volleyball at the University of Virginia where she earned a B.A. in Media Studies. She went on to earn a Master of Marketing degree from Vanderbilt. His brother, Sam, is a sophomore member of the lacrosse team at Bellarmine University in Louisville. His youngest sister, Poppy, is a sophomore at OCA where she is a member of the Landsharks’ volleyball team.
