hoyer attended saint ignatius high school in cleveland, ohio, where he played both football and baseball for the wildcats. on the varsity baseball team, hoyer played pitcher, infielder, and outfielder. in 2002, as a sophomore, he compiled an 8–1 record with a 1.99 era. he was the winning pitcher in the 2002 ohio division i state championship game allowing 2 earned runs in 6 innings pitched.