The Kansas Jayhawks head into 2025 after a winning season in 2024 that was undercut by a 15-15 record in Big 12 play. With two big teams, Texas and Oklahoma, leaving the conference, the Jayhawks look to strike and be one of the better teams in the Big 12 in 2025. A player who may impact this is Perth, Australia native Chase Diggins.
Diggins transferred to Kansas prior to the 2024 season after previously playing at Odessa College in Texas. There, he really impressed people with his all-around plate presence, both in hitting and getting on base. His performance at the plate earned him All-WJCAC first-team honors in 2022 and 2023. He took this talent to Lawrence, where he really showed what he could do at the major division one level.
Diggins had 86 at-bats last season, finishing with a .291 batting average, 16 RBI, and six doubles. He also brought in 19 runs himself, showing the level of production he gave to Kansas’ offense. The Jayhawks ranked third in team batting average and were among the more productive teams in the conference.
Kansas lost six players in the MLB draft in 2024, who all would go on to sign professional contracts. This means that they will look toward their returners like Diggins to step up and produce. With him being a senior in 2025 along an infield that lost Ben Hartl and Kodey Shojinaga within this recent draft class, he is one of the top options for head coach Dan Fitzgerald heading into 2025.
The big bat from Perth may be one of the top hitters on this Kansas team now that he has a season of experience under his belt. The Jayhawks are looking to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time in over ten years.
______
WBN NCAA: https://worldbaseball.com/league/ncaa/
Image Courtesy of Chase Diggins on X
