By his own admission, Jeron Williams’ one season at Lincoln Trail College in Robinson, Ill., was bad.

The Archbold native hit .276 with 50 hits in 53 games, not exactly the way to attract attention from Division I coaches. But Williams had a couple of things on his side: superb base running and elite fielding.

Toledo baseball coach Rob Reinstetle was confident that the shortstop who only committed two errors could improve his defective hitting.

“Coming out of JUCO, I knew I needed to figure out hitting if I wanted to play beyond college,” Williams said. “I could always run, play defense, and I always had a solid arm. Just figuring out the plate was my No. 1 thing. That’s one of the reasons why I came to Toledo. I always heard they swung it pretty decent and that coach Mac [Nick McIntyre] did well with hitters.”

To say that Williams grasped the opportunity and that Reinstetle’s belief was well-founded would be a colossal understatement.

Last season, the 6-foot-1, 180-pound Williams ranked second in the Mid-American Conference in stolen bases (23) and fifth in hits (76), with 19 multi-hit games. He had a .329 batting average with three home runs, 30 runs batted in, and 48 runs scored.

During an April series against Eastern Michigan, Williams hit .647 (11 for 17), scored eight runs, had six RBIs, and did not strike out. From April 22-May 1, he hit .556 (20 for 36) with 15 runs scored and 10 RBIs.

“The more he’s gotten comfortable with this level, he’s really taken off trusting himself knowing that he can hit anything,” McIntyre said.

What has Williams done for an encore?

“I would challenge anybody to come and tell me who a better player in the MAC is than Jeron,” Reinstetle said.

Williams had a 38-game hitting streak to begin the season, one shy of the program record. He ranks second nationally in stolen bases (27), 18th in hits (53), 42nd in triples (3), 76th in runs scored (37), 87th in total bases (82), and just outside the top 100 in batting average (.379).

In the MAC, Williams is first in stolen bases, hits, and triples, second in runs scored, fourth in batting average, ninth in on-base percentage (.453), and 16th in RBIs (26) and doubles (8).

The Rockets are 15-17 overall and 6-9 in the MAC. They have a non-conference weekend series at Samford that begins Friday.

“I can’t lie to you,” Williams said when asked if he envisioned all of the offensive success at Toledo, “no, not at all. But as I kept working with coach Mac and coach Mike [Ryan], I built up confidence gradually. I got to where I’m at now through the work and them helping me out a lot.”

Now Williams is firmly in the MLB draft discussion. He can impact virtually every aspect of the game — hitting, base running, fielding. He can spray the ball to every part of the field and his speed is a game-changer on the base paths, where a walk or single can be equivalent to a triple because of Williams’ ability to steal bases.

“The speed is a huge aspect for him,” Reinstetle said. “He’s a guy who can hit a routine ground ball in the six hole and beat it out.”

Before the season even started, Reinstetle thought Williams would be the MAC player of the year, calling him “the most dynamic player in our league.” But what Reinstetle didn’t foresee was the increased power. Williams has already surpassed his home run total and doubles from last year. He has nearly equaled his RBI and triple totals from 2022, and his slugging percentage and on-base percentage have increased significantly.

Williams is in a better hitting position that features a leg lift load. Previously, his bat and hands were in an awkward position, contributing to inconsistency and a lower-quality swing.

“It was always there for him to hit,” McIntyre said. “Being athletic and getting in a good hitting position takes care of a lot of things. It allowed his bat speed and hand-eye coordination to work. He’s always been able to hit a fastball, recognize pitches well, and he has a really good feel for the barrel. None of that is teachable. It was just about getting him in a better position to use the tools he already had.”

According to Williams, 60-65 percent of his success at the plate can be attributed to identifying the spin out of the pitcher’s hand and 35-40 percent is due to improved mechanics. Altogether, he’s fearless and confident, a combination that puts whoever is on the mound at a disadvantage.

And Williams isn’t the only one who’s benefitting. The players batting behind him see fastballs almost exclusively because he’s such a good base stealer.

“When he’s on first and there’s a right-handed pitcher, it’s almost impossible to throw him out,” McIntyre said. “That’s how fast he is. They can try to pitch out and be quick to the plate, but if you do the math, it’s almost impossible to throw him out.”

During Williams’ senior year of high school, Bowling Green invited him to join the baseball team as a preferred walk-on before pulling the offer. When he transferred to Toledo, he hoped to be an everyday player who contributed to the team.

Reinstetle and McIntyre identified the potential in Williams. It just needed to be tapped.

“The coaches instilled confidence in me,” Williams said. “They told me that I didn’t understand how good I could be if I just locked in.”

First Published April 14, 2023, 10:33 p.m.