Subscribe
Follow Us
It’s usually a dream come true for high school basketball players to be able to play in their hometown in front of family and friends once they head off to play college basketball. Sometimes it never materializes. For Rob Diaz III, that dream is now a reality as he’s coming home to play for Long Beach State via the transfer portal.
With the explosion of the transfer portal in recent years, it’s allowed Division 1 teams to bring in talent from Division 2 and Division 3 teams, which is exactly what Long Beach State did with Rob Diaz.
A Long Beach native, Diaz began his high school basketball career at nearby Millikan High School. He would eventually transfer to J Serra High School and then finish up at LA Premier Prep before committing to D2 Cal Poly Humboldt. After two seasons with the Lumberjacks, Diaz joins Long Beach State with two seasons of eligibility remaining.
For Diaz, it’s not just about coming home, but also showing he’s capable of playing at the D1 level.
“Honestly it feels great. The reason I really chose Long Beach State is because it’s just close to home,” Diaz told ClutchPoints in an exclusive interview. “That’s where I’m from, and I just want to make that jump to the Division 1 level.”
Rob Diaz makes the jump to Division 1
Diaz comes to Long Beach State a highly-decorated player at the D2 level. During his freshman season in 2023-24, he led Cal Poly Humboldt in scoring at 12.5 points. He was named to the California College Athletics Association (CCAA) Freshman of the Year. During his sophomore year, he was named to the CCAA First Team while leading the Lumberjacks in scoring again at 16.0 points.
The Lumberjacks finished last season at 18-11 behind Diaz’s play, and reached the semifinals of the CCAA Tournament before falling to the No. 1 seed Cal State Dominguez Toros. Joining Long Beach State, Diaz’ scoring prowess is well-known. But he has a well-rounded game. He averaged 2.7 assists across two seasons, and it’s his playmaking, among other things, that he’s hoping to show for the Beach as well.
“I’m someone that’s going to come in every day, play as hard as I can, get everybody involved and score points,” Diaz said. “I think I can get better at everything. Because obviously you can get always get better at something. But if I had to choose something specific, it would probably be my handle for sure. I’m working on that a lot. And then just getting more athletic so I guard better and things like that.”
With the increased popularity of the transfer portal, D1 teams aren’t recruiting high school players with the regularity that they were before. A lot of high school players with D1 aspirations have found themselves squeezed out and in search of other options.
While the junior college route has been a popular choice for some players, the D2 and D3 ranks have been an option as well. Diaz is grateful for the past two seasons, and he feels he wouldn’t be as prepared for Long Beach State and the D1 level without having played for the Lumberjacks.
“Cal Poly Humboldt definitely helped me develop into the player that I am today. I don’t think I’d be where I’m at without going to Humboldt, honestly,” Diaz said. “The D1 or bust mentality, I didn’t have that personally, because there’s hoopers everywhere at every level. I felt like I did what I had to do at the Division 2 level and now I’m ready to go up to Division 1.”
Rob Diaz will be joining a Long Beach State team that finished only 7-25 and 3-11 in Big West Conference play. It’s just one season after former head coach Dan Monson led the team to an improbable NCAA Tournament appearance. Diaz is one of a couple of newcomers joining the Beach in Chris Acker’s second season at the helm.
The addition of players in the transfer portal can turn a team’s fortunes around quite quickly, and Diaz believes he can help Long Beach State do just that.
“Next season, I’m looking forward to winning,” Diaz said. “That’s the only thing that we should be looking for, is to win. So I’ll say that.”
