LaMonte Wade's weekend-long star turn in the Los Angeles regional of the NCAA baseball tournament guaranteed his Maryland baseball team attention even if it hadn't knocked off top-seeded UCLA to earn a second straight Super Regional appearance.
His pair of home runs was a rare power display that weekend, and came when teams finally thought they had a way to get Maryland's dynamic leadoff hitter out. But they came as a result of an approach and swing honed for two years while he played away from the center-field position he mans so well.
Wade, for two years a first baseman by necessity, transformed this year from an out-of-position role player to a blossoming star for the ascendant Terps.