Biography
SUMMER 2016
Returning to the Valley Baseball League, this time with the Front Royal Cardinals, Diaz played in 29 games and started 20 to aid his team to the league's Divisional Finals. Defensively, he displayed versatility, with time at third base and shortstop, as well as all three outfield positions. After a slow start in his first three games, he picked it up quickly, getting on base at a .354 clip in his last 22 games of the regular season, with 12 runs scored and nine walks to 11 strikeouts. He hit one home run during the summer, in a 4-2 victory on July 6th, after entering the game as a pinch-runner. His best game of the summer came in a 7-2 win on July 21st, in which he was 1-for-2 with an RBI double, a run scored, two walks and two stolen bases. He ended the season with six stolen bases in nine attempts, and drew a walk in each of last six starts during the regular season, hitting .333 with a .545 on-base percentage from July 16th-24th. On defense, he maintained a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in the outfield, successfully converting 25 chances in 106.2 innings. Diaz also made two appearances on the mound, recording a strikeout and hitting 91 in an inning of work in his first appearance, a 10-3 win on July 12th.
AS A JUNIOR (2016)
Started 51 of his 54 games played for the NCAA Division II National Champion Sharks, all but one of them in left field… Had season highs of three hits, three RBI and two doubles, the first two extra-base hits of his Sharks career, in a 20-0 win against Tuskegee on Feb. 19… Had another three-hit game in a 16-1 victory over American International, with a season-high three runs scored, a stolen base and his first career triple… Hit his first career home run on Mar. 24, in an 11-4 defeat of Saint Leo… Picked up his third and final three-hit game of the season on Apr. 15, in an 11-7 victory against Rollins… Scored the game-tying two-out run in the bottom of the ninth inning in the opening game of the NCAA National Championship Tournament on May 28 to send the game into extras, where they defeated Franklin Pierce, 4-3, three innings later… Hit .280 on 53 hits for the year, with 42 runs scored and 21 runs batted in… Drew 28 walks and wore two pitches to give him a .374 on-base percentage… Added nine doubles, two triples and a home run for a .365 slugging percentage… Stole his first 12 bases without getting caught, and ended the season 18-of-20.
SUMMER 2015
Played for the Covington Lumberjacks of the Valley Baseball League in Covington, Va., where he was coached by Sharks baseball alum Charlie Bernert… A .337 hitter for the summer, scoring 19 runs and totaling six doubles, three triples, and eight stolen bases in 29 games… Was 8-for-13 in the playoffs, and scored seven runs, for a .615 average/.688 on-base/1.000 slugging.
PREVIOUS SCHOOL
Played for Jim Morris at the University of Miami… Played in 23 games and started eight over two seasons for the Hurricanes… Hit .364 with three runs scored and driven in for the 2015 Canes, who advanced to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb… Drew seven walks in 35 plate appearances in 2014, and hit the first home run of his collegiate career on May 2, 2014 vs. Alabama State.
HIGH SCHOOL
Returns to the NSU campus after playing for the University School of NSU Suns under Head Coach Eddie Tisdale… An All-County Honorable Mention as a sophomore in 2011 by both the Miami Herald and Sun-Sentinel, as well as the HSBN All-District team that same year, after hitting .414 and slugging .845, with 13 extra-base hits, 20 RBI, 25 runs scored, and a perfect 10-for-10 on the basepaths… A Pre-season High Honorable Mention by Perfect Game, going into 2012, and a Florida All-Region Honorable Mention after the season… Also named to the Herald’s All-County Third Team and another Sentinel Honorable Mention, for his .397 average, .489 on-base percentage, 19 extra-base hits (12 of them doubles), 29 runs, and 16 stolen bases… Ranked by Perfect Game as the No. 12 high school shortstop in the state and No. 69 in the nation, in addition to being No. 90 among all Florida players… In 2013, stole ten or more bases for the third consecutive year, and drew 15 walks to just 13 strikeouts… Ended his high school career with a .371/.462/.716 slash line from 2011-2013, alongside 73 hits, 40 of which went for extra bases, 72 runs scored, a 34:38 BB:K ratio, and was 36-for-38 on the bases.
PERSONAL
Born in Miami, Fla.… Management major with an entrepreneurship minor… Son of Diego and Ana Diaz…Has an older sister, Camila, and a younger sister, Jessica… His most memorable athletic achievement is hitting his first collegiate home run… Likes NSU because he feels right at home… Most influential people are his parents, who have supported him his whole life… Favorite foods are steak and chicken with rice… Favorite movie is Interstellar… Favorite TV show is SportsCenter… Favorite actor is Denzel Washington… Favorite pro athlete is Mike Trout… Favorite historical person is Aristotle… Favorite vacation spot is somewhere in the Caribbean… Favorite pro teams are the Miami Marlins, Heat and Dolphins… Hobbies include wakeboarding… Favorite class is economics.
