As Landon Diaz has sharpened his skills during his four varsity seasons, Waukegan has improved year over year but still lost more often than won.
Throughout it all, Diaz’s love for the sport and his team didn’t waver.
“I’m really grateful to play for Waukegan,” he said. “I’m really fortunate and grateful for that.”
The Bulldogs are grateful for Diaz, whose presence looms large.
“He definitely attracts other players on the team to try out, even the players from the lower levels here,” Waukegan coach Brennan Pomroy said. “It’s teachers and students in my classes who are asking about how we’re doing, and there are questions that come up about Landon, as well, just because he is kind of the star of our team. I definitely think he draws attention to the sport in general, and it’s definitely a positive influence on our younger players in the program.”
With Diaz leading the way, the Bulldogs (21-10, 3-3) have become a winning team for the first time since 2019 and are competitive in the North Suburban Conference. The 6-foot-5 Diaz has a team-high 254 kills, a team-high 38 blocks, 106 digs and 23 aces.
“He has always been an all-around fundamental player,” Pomroy said. “He just knows the game very well from the outside, which is kind of rare in Waukegan. He’s just an intelligent player who would get kills any way he possibly can.”
Diaz intends to keep playing volleyball any way he can too. He will continue his career at Dominican University and doesn’t want to stop there.
“I truly think I can play pro if I really want to,” he said. “If I keep chasing it and keep grinding harder and harder every day, I think it’s totally possible for me to do it.”
Waukegan’s Landon Diaz (24) reacts during a match at Wheeling on Monday, May 6, 2024. (Rob Dicker / News-Sun)
Diaz, the son of Mexican immigrants, became interested in volleyball by watching his older brothers Diego and Kalidh, who also played for Waukegan.
“As we got older, they started taking it seriously, and I was like, ‘Well, I want to be better than them,’” Diaz said. “So that was kind of my introduction to volleyball.”
Diego Diaz remembers how Landon’s love for the sport grew.
“He ended up liking it more than anything else,” Diego Diaz said. “He tried basketball and soccer, but he never really liked it. In volleyball, he can be dominant with his size and height.”
Landon Diaz certainly made an impression on Pomroy during tryouts three years ago.
“When I first met him, I had coached his older brother a couple of years before,” Pomroy said. “So I knew he had some volleyball experience. At Waukegan, we don’t get a lot of height, so to speak. So immediately I knew that seeing him play for the first time he is going to be a varsity player for me for the next four years.”
Diaz’s first two seasons were challenging for the Bulldogs, who went 11-35. But they showed improvement last year, going 16-19 and winning a regional quarterfinal. Diaz ranked second with 163 kills but had team highs with a .402 hitting percentage and 129 blocks.
“I was kind of a late bloomer,” Diaz said. “I didn’t think that I was playing really good up until my junior year, and I got recognition from players around our conference. It was more fun for me, I think. I was enjoying the game more. I had more of a competitive drive in me. I was getting set more by my setters. I think I definitely started becoming a better player.”
Diaz has also become a role model. Waukegan’s male athlete of the year, Diaz is one of 10 Mexican Americans on the team.
“There’s not really a lot of big Hispanic players in our area,” he said. “I feel like for me to kind of fill that role and try to be the best player I can, and be a good person off the court too, it’s really important because there’s not a lot of Hispanics there, let alone Mexican volleyball players.”
Waukegan’s Landon Diaz, right, spikes the ball during a match at Wheeling on Monday, May 6, 2024. (Rob Dicker / News-Sun)
With his Waukegan career nearing its end, Diaz wants to finish on a high note. The 21st-seeded Bulldogs will play 12th-seeded Deerfield in the Deerfield Regional quarterfinals on May 20.
“Hopefully, we can get out of regionals to go to sectionals and win,” he said. “We have to hope and work in the gym for that. It’s my senior year. I’ve got to play my hardest.”
But Diaz has already made his mark.
“I’m thankful for having such a good coach,” he said. “He helped me so much to develop as a player and person. I just hope to have a lasting impact on future teams to come.”
Isi Frank Ativie is a freelance reporter.
