Daniel Cruz is a sure-gloved infielder playing his first season with the Leesburg Lightning. He was a star player at Southwest Miami High School, an institution that touts MLB Hall-of-Famer Andre Dawson as one of its alumni. There, Cruz was named to three 9A-15 all-district teams and earned his squad’s 2017 MVP award. He also led the Eagles to a district championship in 2016. After graduation, Daniel joined Marshall University to continue his baseball endeavors and pursue an accounting degree. Prior to the summer of 2020, Cruz suited up for two seasons with the Thundering Herd. Over the course of his campaigns, he has appeared in 17 games while starting nine, and when the 2020 season was cut short due to COVID-19, he finished with the third-highest defensive assist total on the team with 16.