Creating Her Identity

At her third school in three years, Diamond Williams has finally found a home at the University of Maryland as a star first baseman for its softball team. 

The Georgia native attended Mercer for her first three seasons before spending her senior year at Coastal Carolina. Now, as a graduate student at Maryland, Williams is on pace for another big season, this time as a first-year Terp under first-year head coach Lauren Karn. 

Williams says she has always been good at adapting to change. She graduated from Mercer in just three years with a psychology degree and a criminal justice minor. She is now enrolled in the master's program at Maryland and is seeking a degree in management studies. Balancing her education while devoting much of her time to the field at multiple schools hasn't been a challenge for her. Instead, it has allowed her to become the woman she wants to be.  

"I think it has also helped me grow as a player to be surrounded by different people from different backgrounds," Williams said. "It's showing me a lot of different things because I feel like growing up, I spent most of my time in Georgia, so just experiencing going from the southeast to now the East Coast and more North has definitely shown me a new world."

Williams earned second-team All-Southern Conference honors as a junior at Mercer. At Coastal Carolina, she finished the 2023 season fifth in the Sun Belt in home runs, seventh in runs scored, eighth in RBIs, ninth in hits, and 10th in on-base and slugging percentage.

The transfer has started the first 18 games this season with the Terps. She boasts a slash line of .305/.397/.610 to go along with team highs in hits (18), RBIs (16), and home runs (5). 

The transfer has brought instant production as a power hitter and an infielder with solid defensive skills. But coach Karn says she has brought much more as a player with her demeanor.

"She has connected with a lot of different groups on the team from freshman to seniors and has had the ability to become a trusted leader because of that," Karn said. "Her calm demeanor and ability to have fun while competing has instilled confidence within her teammates."

Williams never wanted to receive a handout. She saw Maryland as a program on the rise after finishing the 2023 season with its most wins since 2011. However, the Terps missed the NCAA tournament and finished seventh in the Big Ten. The season was a great start, but for many, including Williams, it was a stepping stone for the 2024 season with new faces. 

The first baseman chose Maryland because she felt she could elevate the program to the next level. 

"I'm the type of person to be at a program that's on the way up," Williams said. "That way, what I bring to the table can only make them better versus going to a team that's already established. I feel like it's kind of hard to create an identity for yourself when you go to a program that's already established."

Since becoming a Terp, Williams' love for the game has only grown because of her teammates and family, who continue to support her from afar. She is among a large senior class on the softball team that has the same goal of making their final season one to remember. 

Seven of the 20 student-athletes on the roster are either seniors or graduate students. One of Williams' teammates and fellow graduate, outfielder Jaeda McFarland, says Williams has been a great example to the younger student-athletes.

"We've seen her strikeout on a pitch that was not a strike, but she didn't let that strikeout impact the rest of her at-bats," McFarland said. "The very next time she was at the plate she hit a home run and communicated with our teammates about what she noticed so they could be successful too."

Williams has also been involved with several extracurricular activities since transferring. Another teammate of Williams, who happens to be a graduate student, is pitcher Courtney Wyche. Wyche is a coach for the MRHA Lions, and Williams got involved as a hitting coach for them. The experience expanded to her providing her own hitting lessons as an instructor for young girls in the area. 

"Being able to make those connections with little girls in the Maryland area I think has also been able to give me an identity since I got here," Williams said. "I really enjoy doing those and I will hopefully continue to do them once the summer time comes and I have more time."

Williams has even been involved with the Sports Business Society student organization at Maryland to help her find different academic and career opportunities in the area. She went on a visit to the Washington Commanders facilities with the organization.

The softball season has been met with adversity for Williams, her teammates, and coaches. However, the Terps view their breakthrough 4-0 win over No. 25 Oregon on March 1 as a turning point in the season for the first baseman. Williams recorded two RBIs in that game with her double. Maryland opens a long stretch of games at the Maryland Softball Stadium, starting with Saint Peter's on March 6.  

"I think from here on out, we should just ride the wave," Williams said. "We know we can do it and I think especially when Big Ten play comes, the sky's the limit. I think as long as we put ourselves in a position to want to win the Big Ten, I know for a fact we could, so that's what I'm most excited for."