Doney Thrilled To Join His Brother As A UMass Lowell Commit

Kyle Doney C / St. Marys (HS) , MA / 2026

LYNN, Ma. - It was a little more than a year ago when Kyle Doney began thinking strongly about his college destination.

“From the second I saw him commit, I knew I wanted to go there with him,” Doney reflected about his brother Josh making a commitment to the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

It is now a reality after the St. Mary’s High School junior accepted an offer from the school located just 35 minutes from home.

“I sent them an email to start my recruitment, showing videos of me, who I am,” Doney explained. “They got back to me and I went to their camp and played pretty well. After that I went on a visit and they offered me.”

The trip to Lowell, which took place on Oct 17, was everything the 16-year-old imagined.

“First of all, the field is amazing,” Doney noted. “And the coaches had so much to offer for me. They’re great people, really good guys, that are looking forward to getting me academically and athletically right for the next chapter of my life.”

The offer and commitment has Doney achieving an ambition he has had for a long time.

“Since I was a little kid and watched the College World Series on TV I’ve wanted to play college baseball,” Doney related. “It has been a dream of mine since then.”

Reality set in on Aug. 1, the first day that college coaches could make contact with players in the 2026 class.

“When I got my first text, that’s when it picked up that this is legit,” explained Doney, who also visited UMass Amherst and had talks with Boston College before deciding on UMass Lowell as his college of choice.

It was a recruiting process in which Doney “reached out to schools sending emails and waiting for them to follow up. I’d send them schedules and they’d say come to a camp. That’s how it worked out.”

UMass Lowell came away impressed with the 6-0 185-pound catcher.

“They like how I can throw the ball and the way I can hit the ball,” Doney summarized about what Lowell said he did well to get them interested.

Catching is something that Doney grew up doing.

“When I was younger my dad told me to be a catcher,” Doney reflected. “He was a catcher and he brought me into it. He worked with me and helped me evolve into who I am now.”

The St. Mary’s junior also credited his high school coach Derek Dana with helping “build me into the player I am today.”   

Improvement was big as well in getting college coaches to take an interest.

“Going to the field every day and hitting with friends really helped,” Doney said. “This summer I really started noticing that all that hitting was paying off when I started hitting in-game home runs. I’m thinking, keep doing this and I’ll be able to be the player I want to be.”

Doney is confident that he can provide the America East Conference program with a player who can help in a number of ways.

“Leadership, stealing strikes, getting on base, blocking balls, just doing my job,” Doney said of what he feels he can bring to UMass Lowell. “Overall, I’ll be the guy who wants to be there every day and will always be there.”

Doney, who carries a 3.6 GPA at St. Mary’s, is looking forward to his days ahead at college where he plans to major in business.

“Meeting new people, experiencing what life is like on my own, going through the process of becoming an adult and traveling a lot,” Doney listed off about what he’s ready to do once his high school days have ended and he’s off to college.

There is also a matter of getting to play baseball with his brother, a left-handed pitcher who is currently a high school senior at St. Mary’s.

“When I saw my brother commit I was so happy for him,” Doney concluded. “When it came to my turn I was feeling even better. What a great feeling. Nothing compares.”