UAPB’s Higgins on way to triple threat

When one mentions the term “triple threat,” it usually speaks to an athlete or a person who can compete and flourish at a high level, no matter what the sport.

In the 1980s, it was Kansas City Royals outfielder and Los Angeles Raider running back icon Bo Jackson. Hall of Famer Deion Sanders took the baton from Jackson in the 1990s as an outfielder for the Atlanta Braves while starring on Sundays for the Falcons.

More recently, one could look at current Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray and Denver quarterback Russell Wilson – both of whom have become millionaires on the gridiron but could just have easily found similar success on the professional baseball diamond.

From a business perspective, the gold standard is arguably former Yankee Alex Rodriguez, a phenomenal player who made his mark in baseball and then went on to be just as successful in media, fashion and private business.

UAPB senior outfielder Kacy Higgins has already taken strides to become a player who can follow in their footsteps right down the line.

And why not? He has shown the ability to be able to do it all – both on and off the baseball diamond. Not only is he a tremendously gifted baseball player that was recently voted his team’s Most Valuable Player this season, but he is also a very studious grad student who will soon be earning his master’s degree in computer science and

technology.

Higgins is a very charismatic young man who was a two-sport star at Pine Bluff High School in both football and baseball and who initially dreamed of becoming an Oklahoma Sooner. But as graduation neared, Higgins opted to stay closer to home.

“Oklahoma was my dream school but as it got closer to make my decision, I had to be realistic about out-of-state college fees and that type of stuff.” said Higgins. “I ended up choosing to play baseball at UAPB. I liked the fact that my parents would be able to attend my games and UAPB has one of the best STEM programs in the country, so it was a win-win situation.”

While most of the student-athletes his age took advantage of the additional covid year to be successful on the field two years, Higgins managed to use the extra time to excel off the field in what would have been his junior season on the dirt.

After completing his bachelor’s degree, Higgins worked as an intern for the U.S. Army in the logistics department for four months in Tacoma, Wash., on the civilian side of things. While there, Higgins took full advantage of the opportunity to gain valuable experience for any future opportunities that might await him in the future.

“It was a great experience for me and when I got back, I felt as though I had a totally different mindset about life,” Higgins said. “It felt good to be on my own because I was the only intern there. For me being a student-athlete and getting that experience was important because there will be an opportunity for me to have a steady income just in case I decided that I didn’t want to continue playing baseball.”

Should the opportunity present itself to play baseball at next level, he certainly has the numbers to warrant a few looks from baseball teams all over country as his stats have remained steady during his four-year career at UAPB.

Once he returned to the field in his junior season in 2021, the Pine Bluff native continued to thrive as if he had never left.

He finished that season starting 25 of the 33 games for the Golden Lions and was ranked 10th in the SWAC Conference in with a .351 batting average (including 34 hits, five doubles and 12 RBI). Higgins was also among the conference best in stolen bases, swiping 7-out-of-10 bases and was selected to the HBCU All-Star Team 2021, which was presented by Minority Prospect.

“For me, it was a gradual thing.” Higgins said. “I started a little bit my freshman and sophomore years, but I really took off my junior year and was on the watch list to get drafted.”

This season, the offensive numbers for Higgins have remained consistent as he was named to the 2022 Preseason All-SWAC team and delivered the goods once again.

Higgins is in the company of some of the conference leaders in several offensive categories and has been the driving force behind his team’s success over his final two seasons at UAPB.

With this summer’s Major League Draft around the corner, Higgins sounds like a young man who is keeping everything in prospective.

“I definitely have different things that I want to pursue.” Higgins said. “But if that call comes for me to play at the next level, then I will be ready to accept that challenge.”