In a loaded lineup, Hurricanes’ Derek Williams standing out as ACC play begins
Derek Williams wasn’t trying to do too much. He knew the situation at hand. There were two runners on base in the seventh inning of a tied game. He didn’t need a home run. He didn’t need anything extravagant. All Williams needed was to wait for the right pitch to hit.
Two pitches in, he got a fastball right up the middle of the plate. The Miami Hurricanes’ slugging outfielder didn’t waste the opportunity, depositing the pitch into right field for a go-ahead two-run double in the Hurricanes’ eventual 5-2 win over the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats on Wednesday at Mark Light Field.
“He’s a veteran guy,” Hurricanes coach J.D. Arteaga said.
That’s apparent in his approach — and with how he’s handling success early in the season.
In a lineup filled with stars — Daniel Cuvet is a preseason All-American, middle infielder Jake Ogden set the table for the team last season and transfer catcher Alex Sosa has made an immediate impact — it’s Williams who has been the Hurricanes’ most consistent hitter so far this season.
As No. 24 Miami (11-2) opens Atlantic Coast Conference play this weekend against Boston College (7-5), the fifth-year senior looks to keep the good times going.
“We’re going to keep getting better and better and better,” Williams said. “We’re gonna bring the juice.”
Williams has been doing that already this season.
Through 13 games, Williams leads qualified Hurricanes hitters in batting average (.535), slugging (1.023), on-base-plus-slugging (1.637), hits (23), doubles (six), RBI (21) and runs scored (21). He’s one of three players on the team with at least five home runs along with Cuvet (six) and Sosa (five).
Williams, who transferred to Miami last season from Wichita State after starting off at the junior college level, is building on a strong 2025 season during which he hit .317 with a .986 OPS, 11 doubles, nine home runs, 22 RBI and 34 runs scored in 43 games. He missed the team’s final 16 regular-season games due to a broken hamate bone in his left hand.
“Last year. It was super devastating to obviously go down,” Williams said before the season. “It really, really hurt my heart because I love playing in front of these fans. I love this community, and it’s been nothing but a dream come true for me to come down here. So I’m excited to be back. I’m fully healthy. ... I’m gonna give my all each and every day for this program and for this community, and I’m excited to see what happens.”
So far, so good for Williams.
He has hits in 12 of 13 games and multiple hits in nine of 13 contests thus far, and they’re coming in big situations.
He has driven in multiple runs in seven of 13 games, including Wednesday against Bethune-Cookman. He hit a towering three-run home run on Saturday against the Florida Gators to give Miami an early lead in their eventual 8-4 loss.
And yes, he is aware of the gaudy numbers he has put up through three weeks although he tries not to prioritize the individual statistics.
“It’s on the board, so I’m not gonna lie to you. I do look at it every once while and just kind of see where I’m at,” Williams said. “But I try not to get it in my head. It’s a long season. I’ve got a lot of ball going. It’s a roller coaster, and if I get all wrapped up in the stats, I feel like it’s kind of selfish for me to do that. So I try not to look into it too much and kind of focus more on the team situation — how I can help the team win and how I can impact the game as much as I possibly can.”
That will continue now that Miami turns its attention to conference play. The Hurricanes went 15-14 in league play in 2025 and were one-and-done in the ACC tournament. UM was voted to finish eighth in the 16-team conference in preseason coaches poll; Boston College, their first league opponent, was voted 16th.
.JPG)