A versatile defender, Jamal Baptiste broke into the U18 squad on a regular basis at the start of the 2018/19 season while still a schoolboy.
Tall, strong and comfortable in possession, Baptiste made his full debut in an U18 Premier League South win at Norwich City on 11 August 2018. By the season's end he had started 14 times.
Baptiste's outstanding progress continued in the 2019/20 season as he made his debut for the U23s in a 1-0 Premier League International Cup win over Valencia 'B' on 11 September 2019, playing the full 90 minutes.
With the occasion arriving two months short of his 16th birthday, Baptiste became the second-youngest West Ham U23s player in history, behind only U18s teammate Jayden Fevrier and ahead of Mark Noble.
An England U17 debut was swift to follow, as a 15-year-old Baptiste joined 16-year-old teammate Amadou Diallo in making his international bow against Germany Under-17s on Thursday 10 October 2019.
Having ended the 2019/20 campaign with ten appearances for the U23s to his name, Baptiste could be seen training alongside the first-team on their 2020/21 pre-season tour in Scotland.
He went on to make his maiden West Ham United appearance in the 5-1 pre-season win over Wycombe Wanderers in August 2020 as a 16-year-old, and was subsequently called up to England U18s for the first time in October 2020.
In 2020/21, Baptiste became a regular for the U23s whilst only 17 years of age, making 23 appearances in all competitions - including three in the Papa John's Trophy against senior opposition.
January 2021 also saw Baptiste make his West Ham United senior debut, coming off the bench to replace Ryan Fredericks with seven minutes remaining of the 4-0 FA Cup fourth round win over Doncaster Rovers.
In the summer of 2021, Baptiste once again trained and travelled with the first team in St Andrew's, scoring the senior Hammers' opening goal of pre-season with a side-footed volley against Dundee.
The teenager, who cites Virgil van Dijk and his former Academy mentor Matthew Upson as players he models his game on, was named on the substitutes' bench for West Ham's opening three Premier League matches of the 2021/22 season, while starting regularly for the U23s.
After making five friendly appearances for England U20s and one UEFA European Championship qualifying appearance for England U19s, Baptiste made his second first-team appearance and European debut for West Ham in the 1-0 UEFA Europa League Group H defeat by GNK Dinamo Zagreb at London Stadium on 9 December 2021.
Baptiste would finish the 2021/22 season with 22 appearances for the U23s.
A difficult 2022/23 season would follow for Baptiste, with four appearances at development team level.