CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WTKR) — Growing up watching some of the great baseball products from Hampton Roads, Chesapeake native Harrison Didawick began to dream of a career on the diamond.
The start to his time at Western Branch, however, left him unsure of how long that career might go.
"I was under-recruited coming out of high school," Didawick said. "I didn't perform well in high school, it was all potential."
That changed during his sophomore season with the Bruins when the University of Virginia came calling. A chance with the Cavaliers helped give the outfielder a new mindset.
"That chip is always on my shoulder," he said. "I've always tried to use that chip to motivate myself to get after it and keep getting better."
"His work ethic is second to none," said Western Branch coach Roland Wright. "He taught what our guys now know about early work, after work and things like that. To see the results that are happening doesn't surprise me at all."
The results in Didawick's second campaign with UVA have been staggering. After playing in 53 games his first year, Didawick has become one of the team's most explosive hitters.
He's launched 23 home runs in 2024, tying a program single season record set by Jake Gelof in 2023, and leads the Cavaliers in runs batted in (68). More importantly to him, the Wahoos are heading to the College World Series in Omaha for a second straight season.
"It's been magical. All the hard work is coming out," Didawick said. "As a team, it's been a lot of fun. We've been winning and we've been trying to live up to the standard we set every day in practice. It's been a lot of fun, it's a dream come true."
The sophomore tied the record during Virginia's first game in the ACC Tournament against Georgia Tech. Though he hasn't had the benchmark shot in the 20-plus plate appearances since, Didawick hasn't dropped in production.
"We're trying to not think about (the record)," he said. "Of course it's something in the back of your mind but we're focused on winning so that's what I'm focused on."
His ascendant season comes in the same year he finds himself age eligible to be picked in the 2024 MLB Draft. It's a lot to take in for Didawick, who is still chasing a national title with UVA.
"I started playing baseball when I was eight years old, and it's a dream come true," he said. "We're going to make the most of this, we're going to go out there and try to win this thing."
The Cavaliers take the field for their first game of the College World Series against ACC rival North Carolina on Friday at 2:00 p.m.
When Didawick steps up to the plate in Omaha, he'll approach the next at-bat with that same drive that developed when he was a high school prospect trying to prove himself at Western Branch.
"That's never going to change," he said. "Because I love baseball and everything that comes with it."
