Overview:
Joel Mukasa joins two other Ugandans Nicholas Alumai and Isaac Odongo as the only African born players on the baseball roster at the University of St Thomas.
Uganda’s Baseball player Joel Mukasa, 19, has received a scholarship to attend the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas where he will study Software Engineering.
This follows six years of success in the classroom and on the field in Mpigi at Allen VR Stanley Secondary School as a catcher and an infielder.
Mukasa, a native from Jinja city in Eastern Uganda will strive for more of the same at the university level in the United States.
“I am excited to get the scholarship at the University of St Thomas in Houston, Texas. I will stay focused to achieve success both in class and on the field.” Mukasa vowed during the official flag-off ceremony on Monday, 15th January 2024.
A graduate of the 2022 class from Allen VR Stanley Secondary School, Mukasa began playing baseball in 2014 and represented the school multiple times in the RBI International tournaments in the United States.
Additionally, Mukasa was a standout student in the classroom at Allen VR School leading to a partial academic scholarship at University of St Thomas (UST).
He joins two other Ugandans Nicholas Alumai and Isaac Odongo as the only African born players on the baseball roster at the University of St Thomas.
Odongo began his collegiate career in 2022, while Alumai commenced in 2023.
Mukasa will chase his baseball dreams while also studying computer (software) engineering in the classroom starting next week.
Mukasa (Joel) has been with us since 2016 as an S1 student. He has always been a prime example of why we started Uganda Little League Baseball and AVRS. Joel is an excellent student, a great baseball player and a true leader with his peers and in his community. We are certain that he will continue to inspire the youth of Uganda in the classroom, on the field, but most importantly as an incredible human being. We wish him the best in Houston.
Richard Stanley, Director – Uganda Little League Baseball
Meanwhile, Allan Ajoti, 18, was signed by Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Club in the United States of America (USA) as a catcher.
Ajoti is the fourth Ugandan born player to play professionally for a Major League Baseball (MLB) organization.
He is expected to report to the Dodgers’ Dominican Republic complex, Campo Las Palmas, in Santo Domingo to start his journey in professional baseball.
The Dominican Republic is the first step for Ajoti who will now compete to get promoted through six levels of Minor League Baseball, with the goal of playing in Major League Baseball for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Ajoti will join the likes of Ben Serunkuma and Umar Male as the only African born players in the Dodgers organization.
Serunkuma and Male have both found success with the Dodgers since signing in 2022.
In 2023, Serunkuma reached low-A (level 3) whilst Male reached as high as AAA (level 5).