Next Level Marauders

Maclay Alumni in Division I Sports

Photo Courtesy of Peyton Naylor

When athletes are young, they will often imagine themselves playing their sport in college. For a lot of athletes, this dream is not possible, but for the 2% of athletes that do make it, the experiences are something they enjoy. Through Maclay, some athletes were able to make this dream possible.

Peyton Naylor who graduated from Maclay in 2023 was able to achieve his dream of playing football at Florida State University. In 2023, Naylor was rated a five star long snapper and fifth best long snapper in his class. His performance at Kohl’s specialists camps helped Naylor land a preferred walk-on offer at Florida State. Naylor chose the Seminoles over the Air Force Academy.  Naylor played in his first game in the 2024 football season against Charleston Southern on Nov. 23 and will likely become the starting long snapper at Florida State within the next two seasons.

“It took constant work,” Naylor said. “I used to long snap three to five times a week outside of a season from 8th grade until senior year. Not only did I snap, but I worked out and studied film on certain teams’ punt defenses so I knew who would block me and what the returners were capable of.”

Along with Naylor, 2023 Maclay graduate Michael Smith also made his football dreams come true as a division one kicker when he received a full ride scholarship to be a kicker at Florida A & M university. Smith was also a five star kicker and ranked as the 44th best kicker in his class. He even started as a true freshman at FAMU as the kick-off specialist. In his two seasons at FAMU, Smith has also never missed a kick whether it was a point after attempt or field goal. He has a career long field goal kick of 49 yards when he kicked against then number 12 ranked Miami on Sept. 7. Though he is currently in the transfer portal, Smith is looking to continue his dream at a bigger school. This will also grant him the ability to be in the College Football 26 video game.

“The best thing about being D1 is living out your dreams, “ Smith said. “You get to play the sport you love and watch all of your hard work pay off.”

Football is not the only pathway for athletes to compete at the division one level. Payton Bundy, who graduated from Maclay in 2024,  is currently a part of the equestrian team at the University of Tennessee-Martin. She is a part of a top 10 equestrian team in the nation and is looking to make big strides in the future.

“I do enjoy it,” Bundy said. “It is a lot more work and I don’t have a lot of time to spark but I like that I need to have good time management and staying disciplined.”

Class of 2024 graduate Jalen Crawford was another D1 Maclay alumni, continuing his basketball career at Florida State this season as a walk-on. Crawford has played in his true freshman season and recorded his first career steal against the University of Massachusetts on Nov. 24.

Michael Grant from the class of 2023, also continued his football career at FSU as a preferred walk-on. Grant along with the other athletes are just a few of the many Marauders who were able to extend their athletic careers to the division one college level from Maclay.

Once the class of 2025 graduates, seniors Landri Ross and Elizabeth Dowdy will also be extending their athletic careers at the division one level at Northern Alabama and Auburn. Even though a lot of these athletes compete in different sports, each one of them has dedicated constant time to getting better, which has led them to be able to compete at the division one level.