Notre Dame outfielder TJ Williams makes incredible diving grab vs. Pittsburgh

Notre Dame outfielder TJ Williams made one of the best catches of the 2024 college baseball season on Friday night. In the top of the third inning, Pittsburgh’s Dom Popa blasted a deep shot to deep center field. All the way back to the warning track. And that meant T.J. Williams had to turn on the jets and in a hurry. Williams raced his way back to the warning track just in the nick of time, fully extending his body and glove in mid-air, reeling in an incredible catch in the process.

Check out what will surely go down as one of the best plays of the year in college baseball.

Willie Mays who? Holy shit. pic.twitter.com/IgjcWL3V6U

— 11Point7 College Baseball (@11point7) May 3, 2024

Pittsburgh won the game 3-1, but make no mistake about it, T.J. Williams made a catch that won’t be forgotten anytime soon. What a spectacular play. The Panthers got their three runs on nine hits on Friday, and the Fighting Irish had six hits.

Notre Dame currently sits at 23-21, including 7-18 in conference. They’ll have two more games this weekend with Pittsburgh, one on Saturday and one on Sunday to wrap up the series. Before their loss to Pittsburgh, the Fighting Irish had won three straight games, two wins against Wake Forest and one against Michigan State.

Not only is Williams one of the best fielders in the league, but he’s batting .340 with 8 home runs, 28 RBIs, and 82 total bases in 153 total at bats. His fielding percentage is 99%. And that’s not surprising after seeing him make that grab on Friday evening. The Fighting Irish have three players with double-digit home runs (Baumgardt, Moreno, and Glancy).

As a junior, TJ Williams started 53 games for Notre Dame, playing in 54 total. He finished the 2023 campaign with 35 runs, 48 hits, eight doubles, three triples, four home runs, and 16 RBIs. He had a career-high four RBIs against Michigan State. And Williams also tallied a career-high of three hits vs. Pittsburgh on May 24th.

As a sophomore, he played in 28 games, with 14 starts on the season. Williams finished the year with 16 runs, 18 hits, three doubles, one home runs, 10 RBIs, and two stolen bases.

Coming out of Georgetown Prep, he was one of the higher ranked baseball prospects in that area. According to Perfect Game, he was ranked as the No. 2 outfielder and the No. 5 player from the state of Maryland. Williams brought home All-Met honors in 2018 and 2019.