There were early moments for Wes Burton that struck him as surreal and serendipitous, but Opening Day 2016 was when the Santa Monica, California, high school student realized just how crazy and connected his little cleat endeavor had become.

The Dodgers were pasting the Padres, 15-0, to open the season, and the latter stages of the first game saw L.A.’s Kiké Hernandez at the plate and San Diego’s Ryan Buchter on the mound out of the bullpen.

Two MLB players. Two pairs of cleats. Both customized in Burton’s converted garage that doubles as his mother’s (Sabrina Burton) home office and Burton’s work station for his creations.

Two years later the high school junior is an elite Southern California right-handed pitcher, who currently measures at 6-foot-7, 221 pounds and recently committed to play college baseball at Ole Miss, choosing the Rebels over PAC 12 and ACC schools as well as interest from the Ivy League.

The burgeoning cleat customization company — Wes Custom Kicks — is also still in operation, and what started with Hernandez and the Dodgers has grown to 11 current MLB players and evens teams outside the West Coast footprint.

“This started somewhat by accident and next thing you know two guys playing on Opening Day on TV are wearing cleats from my garage,” Burton said. “You can’t dream that up. It’s a unique position, and I appreciate all of it.”

Burton has always had an art interest, but it wasn’t an application until he painted a pair of shoes for his mom on her birthday. The then-13-year-old sat in his bedroom and did it by hand. Sabrina, Wes said, was pleasantly surprised by the talent level. Instead of the usual perfunctory praise doled out by a parent, she was genuinely impressed.

That Christmas, Burton’s present was an airbrush, and there was a $500 loan from Sabrina to start his business of shoe customization. He’s since paid it back, mostly because Hernandez decided to answer a social media message.

Burton’s initial client was a fellow high school student, but on a whim he sent a direct message to the Dodgers utility player. He offered his services for free and targeted Hernandez because of the player’s personality. He correctly calculated that Hernandez was one of the more likely Dodgers to respond.

Within a week there was a message back, and they began the initial design that has turned into a double digit number of personalized cleats, a bat and other items for Hernandez.

“It started with him and spread organically with word of mouth,” Burton said. “He opened up other players for me, and I guess my work has stood out.”

Buchter, who was with the Dodgers organization in 2015, became Burton’s second major client, and that list has included Yasmani Grandal, Shin-Soo Choo, Alex Wood and Matt Duffy, among others.

Wood has arguably given Burton’s business the most exposure, wearing his designs in the All-Star Game and the World Series last season. There’s also an amount of trust involved with Wood’s favorite cleats.

The Dodger lefty prefers an older-model Nike that the company no longer includes in its everyday lineup. Wood has gone so far as to purchase the shoes in his size on eBay and stockpile them for future use. Considering the limited supply, Burton took it as a pride point that Wood would allow him to work on the shoes.

“Alex Wood is pretty particular about his cleats, and there’s trust with it considering the eBay situation,” Burton said. “He takes a long time to break them in, and I did the work for him but didn’t see them on him for a while. Then I came home and turned on the All-Star game. There they were.”

Last summer the National Baseball Hall of Fame reached out to Burton to design a pair for its learning center.

“It’s the most important place in baseball,” Burton said. “Anyone would dream of that.”

Things haven’t halted, but Burton has put the brakes on his activity in recent months.

It’s baseball season, and he’s prioritizing his future. His family visited Ole Miss last month for the series win over Arkansas and he committed on April 23. The program’s profile pushed the Rebels out front of many quality teams, and the visit solidified his decision.

“I think first and foremost is the opportunity to play for (head coach) Mike Bianco,” Burton said. “The longest tenured coach in SEC, and I’ve talked to him and (Carl) Lafferty to learn the program. It’s really aligned with things i”m passionate about and the way I’ve gone about my career thus far. The things I believe in with regards to pitching and how they develop them. I love how the program is structured and to play against the best baseball in the SEC.”

Burton throws four-seam and two-seam fastballs in the high 80s to low 90s and has a slider that’s quickly developing into a plus pitch. He’s beginning to define his changeup, though in high school changeups typically speed up the bats of overmatched hitters.

Repeating optimal delivery from his frame and improving his secondary pitches are the main goals before he gets to Oxford.

“Pretty objectively I’m big and was given this baby giraffe body,” Burton said. “I have time to figure it out. I need to use my limbs better, continue to get stronger.”

The cleats business will pick back up full steam at some point, but he’s focused on his own field and game for the foreseeable future. He’s also careful to abide by the numerous NCAA and amateurism rules that could impact his eligibility.

It started as a 13-year-old with an idea, and the work now stretches from Tampa to Los Angeles. Burton calls it a “glorified hobby,” one that will always be in demand and a possibility for his clients.

“My mom and I have made a tremendous effort to be super vigilant and careful in regards to NCAA rules,” Burton said. “We’re cognizant of the fact I don’t want to throw away the college opportunity over some shoes in my garage. I know how crazy it all is and how fortunate I am, but I have another future, too.”