BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Union County High School senior Devin Diggs, according to his coach, made the decision to do whatever was necessary to play at the next level. It worked, as Diggs put himself in rare company, signing a letter of intent to play baseball at Jacksonville’s University of North Florida.
“I’m excited to see what UNF has in store for me,” Diggs said following his signing ceremony, which was held Dec. 4 in the UCHS auditorium. “It looks like I have a promising future there.”
Diggs said two key factors led to UNF being the right school for him. One was that the school is close to home. The other was that he felt like he was a part of something special at UNF.
“They treated me like family,” Diggs said.
UCHS Head Coach Jiwan James said less than 2 percent of high-school senior baseball players (an average of 130,000 per year) receive scholarships from Division-I schools.
“That’s a big accomplishment for him,” James said.
James said Diggs became part of that small percentage by having the mindset that he was going to play in college. That included his approach to the weight room, which changed about a year and a half ago, James said, describing it as Diggs wanting to get something out of it rather than just going through the motions so he could get out as fast as he could.
“I think he made his mind up that he wanted to go and play at the next level,” James said. “He started taking it seriously.”
After Diggs plays his last season for UCHS, James will miss the steady presence his team has had in the middle infield.
“He’s been my starting shortstop for three years now,” James said. “I’m going to have to fill that hole. We’ve got some young guys coming behind him, but it’s easy to write a line-up when you know you’ve got your shortstop there every single night.”
Diggs had a .914 fielding percentage last year, improving upon his .887 percentage as a sophomore. James said what stands out the most about Diggs at shortstop is his athleticism, which was the first things coaches and scouts noticed.
“They all talked about his athleticism,” James said.
Diggs is going to UNF as a two-way player as he has also helped the Tigers as a member of their pitching staff. He led the team in strikeouts the last two seasons with 43 in 2023 and 48 in 2024. As a sophomore, he had the third-most innings pitched (27.2), going 3-0 with an ERA of 3.80. Diggs was third in innings pitched (28.1) last season as well, going 1-2 with an ERA of 2.47, which was second-best on the team.
“My best attribute is probably my fastball,” Diggs said, “but I’m really working on my changeup, trying to get it a little bit slower. It’s a little bit too fast right now.”
James said he hopes Diggs can continue to play in the field and pitch at UNF, but it’s OK if he eventually winds up focusing on one position.
“I just want to see him out on the field,” James said.
Diggs batted .209 with 18 RBI as a junior. He had seven extra-base hits, including three home runs that James described as “no-doubters.”
“A lot of people don’t see it in his body frame,” James said of the 5-11 Diggs, “but there’s a lot of untapped power in there.”
James said an important part of Diggs’ transitioning to the college game will be altering his body.
“He needs to learn to eat and gain about 20, 25 pounds,” James said. “That’s probably the biggest thing — continue to add strength and muscle to his body frame.”
James said Diggs’ work ethic and mindset, along with parents who’ve been a tremendous support to him, will help Diggs succeed in whatever he does after high school.
“He’ll be prepared for it,” James said. “He’s got a good head on his shoulders.”
Diggs said he’ll feel a sense of relief when he finally steps onto the field as a UNF Osprey. He’ll have made a dream become a reality.
“For a while, I didn’t think I was going to get there,” he said. “(It’ll be) major relief.”
