Jackson Free Press

JACKSON — It is easy to figure out when springtime hits Mississippi. It seems to rain nearly every other day, and pollen covers the landscape like a blanket of yellow snow.

But one other way you can tell it's spring is when college baseball season begins around the state. Potential abounds this season for the Jackson State University baseball team. The Tigers return several key starters to a team that went 32-25 overall and 15-9 in SWAC play last season.

JSU finished behind Alabama State University in the SWAC East for the 2015 season. Southern University bounced the Tigers out of the SWAC Baseball Tournament, which ended their season.

Just a couple of seasons ago, JSU was coming off back-to-back SWAC baseball championships. Overall, the program has won 16 SWAC baseball championships.

The Tigers are 14-11 overall and 3-3 in SWAC play this season. Once again, they are looking up in the East standings to Alabama State, who swept the team in a three-game series earlier this year. In the Tigers' last SWAC three-game series, JSU swept Alabama A&M University, and a series against Alcorn State University was postponed due to weather and field conditions.

Plenty of baseball is left this year, and the Tigers can still make a run at the postseason. If Jackson State wants to make a run at another SWAC title, it will need catcher Carlos Diaz to continue his stellar play.

Diaz is in his first season at JSU as a junior transfer from Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. He is already on the watch list for the 2016 Johnny Bench Award that BaseballSavings.com presents each year to honor college baseball's top catcher in NCAA's Division I.

At the plate, Diaz has been one of the hottest-hitting Tigers. His batting average is .423 with 33 hits, 27 runs batted in, 25 runs, five doubles and four home runs. He has a .641 slugging percentage with 10 walks and nine strikeouts in 78 at-bats. On the base paths, he has stolen six bases on seven attempts.

Diaz has been solid behind home plate with 142 putouts and a .967 fielding percentage. He has just five errors but has given up 19 stolen bases, only throwing out two players trying to steal on him.

In conference play, Diaz is No. 1 in hits, RBI and total bases (50), and is No. 2 in home runs, runs scored, doubles, sacrifice flies (2), hit by pitch (5) and stolen bases. He is No. 3 in walks and steal attempts, along with No. 5 in at bats, games played (22) and games started (22).

The junior catcher earned SWAC Player of the Week honors for his play from March 21-27. During that span, Diaz had a .750 batting average, a 1.100 slugging percentage and a .773 on-base percentage. He went 15 for 20 at the plate as he hit four doubles, one home run, nine runs, nine RBI and 22 total bases.

Baseball America has Diaz as the fifth best player in the SWAC conference's top 10 draft prospects this season. He will be eligible for the MLB Draft after the 2016 season ends.

See more local sports stories at jfp.ms/sports.