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Chicago Baseball Star, White Sox Draft Pick James Davison Commits to Miami

By Justin Breen | October 6, 2015 5:54pm

CHICAGO — James Davison is heading to "The U."

The former Morgan Park High School baseball star verbally committed to the University of Miami (Fla.) on Monday and said he will sign with one of the nation's best collegiate baseball programs during an official visit on Nov. 5.

"It was my dream school, coming from where I came from," said Davison, who was the Chicago Public Schools' Player of the Year in 2014, when he hit .480 with 25 RBI and stole 32 bases for Morgan Park. "I never expected to be there or get the opportunity."

Davison is currently attending Howard College in Big Spring, Texas — one of the top junior college baseball programs in the country — on an athletic scholarship. He has one more season to play at Howard, where he had a .390 batting average with three home runs, 44 RBI and 35 stolen bases last season.

Davison said Miami coaches told him he'd likely start right away and play either center or left field.

He chose Miami, a three-time national champion, over several schools, including Louisiana Lafayette, TCU, Texas Tech and Missouri.

"I felt Miami was just the perfect fit for my game," Davison said.

Davison stands 5-foot-7, but that didn't stop from being selected by the White Sox in the 39th round of the 2014 Major League Baseball draft.

Davison has been in love with baseball since he started competing as a 3-year-old with players two years older. He has played in countless games since with park district, travel and school teams.

He's also been part of the White Sox Amateur City Elite travel program, which has placed several inner-city players in Division I universities and professional organizations.

"The opportunity to play hundreds of games each year has allowed him to get a better understanding of his ability and how to use it on the field," Kevin Coe, the director of the White Sox program and a McKinley Park resident, said in 2014.

Davison said baseball also kept him off the streets. While in Chicago, he lived in Dolton with his mom, Michelle Savage, who has been divorced from his father, Roseland resident James Davison Sr., since he was 4.

Because of gang problems in his neighborhood, he didn't leave his home for anything other than baseball or school for months. When he attended Morgan Park, which won Chicago Public League and regional titles this year and finished 21-8-1, his dad would pick him up in Dolton and drive him to the Southwest Side school daily.

"If you walk outside to the store, there's gangs on the block," Davison said in 2014. "They'll try to rob you or try to jump you or just try to scare you away from the neighborhood just to show you how tough they are. I don't let that happen to me. I stay in the house."

Davison said Tuesday that it's "an honor to become a Miami Hurricane."

"I wanted to say thank you to everybody who helped me overcome getting out of Chicago and all my coaches at Howard who helped me get better mentally and physically," he said. "I'm excited."

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