Junior Diondre Batson of The University of Alabama’s track and field team recently recorded the world’s fastest time in the 100-meter dash this season at the Spec Towns Invitational. Clocking in at 10.06 seconds, Batson showed the blazing speed and potential that Alabama coaches said could send him all the way to the Olympics one day.

Batson wasn’t always a track athlete, however, and he certainly didn’t see himself attending college roughly 1,700 miles from his hometown.

Originally an all-district wide receiver at his high school in Sacramento, Calif., Batson settled on his hometown American River College. Setting out to play football there, it wasn’t until he made an agreement with his mother to run track that he gained attention from big-time college programs.

“Coach sent me a message on Facebook, actually,” Batson said, referring to assistant coach Matt Kane, who’s in charge of sprints and hurdles. “It was weird, I guess, someone from Alabama talking to me there.”

It must not have been too strange, however, because Kane said within 30 minutes, Batson sent along his contact information to the team.

“I had seen him at the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore.,” Kane said. “I thought I’d just hit him up on Facebook.”

With that outreach to a young, athlete, the Crimson Tide brought him to Tuscaloosa for a recruiting visit and sealed the deal.

“The biggest factor in me coming to the University was the facilities,” Batson said.

In his short time at the University, Batson has achieved great success, evidenced by his aforementioned world record and the recently awarded Southeastern Conference Athlete of the Week. Though an athlete such as Batson may make the whole routine look easy, he admits it’s far from it.

“Running track here is the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” Batson said. “I’m tired a lot, with all the practices and study halls I have to do. Training is a lot of time, too.”

However, his coaches have complete faith in him to keep carrying the Tide mantle this season and throughout his track career.

“I’d compare him to the best people I’ve ever coached,” Kane said. “That includes silver medalists at the championships. He’s got the ability to be the next big thing in American track and field.”

The progression Batson has undergone since his first practice with the Tide is another thing coaches said will bring him to amazing heights.

“He was like a baby deer on ice the first time I had seen him try to run outdoor track,” Kane said. “He had the tools, but he just wasn’t comfortable. He has improved drastically in just a few short months.”

When asked where he could see Batson going in the next few years of his career, Kane was unequivocal in his answer.

“Representing the United States in the Olympics,” Kane said. “He has that kind of potential. Everyone here knows it.”