By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
Brownsville Pace football and baseball standout Jose Banda signed his national letter of intent Wednesday to play baseball for the University of Texas at San Antonio, turning his longtime dream into a reality.
Banda has been starting for the Vikings’ baseball team since his freshman year, and coach Roy Rodriguez praised him for helping turn the program around. Banda became the fourth NCAA Division I signee in Pace baseball history when he put pen to paper during the well-attended ceremony.
“I’m definitely excited and ecstatic. This has been my dream since I was a little kid, to go to UTSA and to play college ball, to get school paid for,” Banda said. “My parents can’t really afford for me to go anywhere, so this is a really big blessing. It means the world.
“Definitely (want to thank) my parents and God, I believe that He’s the reason I’m here today,” he continued. “And the coaching staff here at Pace, Coach Rod (Rodriguez), Coach (Abraham) Gutierrez, Coach (Rodney) Morales, Coach (Danny) Pardo, especially Coach (Billy) Garza. He’s guided me in being a better person, and he took me under his wing.”
Banda has filled many roles for the Vikings, including pitcher, shortstop and outfielder. He said he’ll likely be an outfielder for the Roadrunners under coach Pat Hallmark. Banda first got in touch with UTSA after his sophomore season in 2019 through assistant coach Ryan Aguayo. He committed on the same day he took his official visit in August 2019, crediting the welcoming coaching staff and easy atmosphere on campus with hooking him on the program.
Though he has had success as the starting quarterback for the Vikings’ football team, Banda said baseball has always felt like a better long-term sport for him because of his size. He was hitting .367 with two home runs and 15 RBIs before the COVID-19 pandemic cut his junior season short, and he’s looking forward to improving his swing and defensive speed in his final season before heading to San Antonio.
“I’m not the tallest guy … (and) I’m more of a heavier guy, so I can hit the ball pretty hard,” Banda said. “I think I’ll be playing the outfield over there, so I want to get quicker, but for me it’s more about the long ball and trying to get out of the yard. It’s going to be a new chapter in my life, and I just hope to live it up.”
Rodriguez said the signing moment was one he has been waiting for since Banda first joined the program. He reminisced on Banda’s efforts as a freshman pitcher to help Pace end a seven-year playoff drought and the impact it had on the staff and the program.
“You got us into the playoffs your freshman year, remember?” Rodriguez said to Banda over the microphone. “We went to Lopez High School, we had to win to have a playoff game, and you beat Lopez 7-1. That’s when our coaching staff said, ‘Man, this kid is special. He’s going to be good for us.’”
As Banda looks ahead to his senior season in the spring, he’s glad to have the pressure of securing a scholarship behind him. He said he’s going to “stay as humble as I can and just play as hard as I can” to help his team get back into the playoffs and make sure the program is better when he leaves than when he arrived.
Rodriguez said that’s a mission Banda has already accomplished. He said Banda’s mentality and accomplishments have helped the program get back into the spotlight, and he called this milestone a win for the entire Pace community.
“This is a blessing for everybody associated with this program,” Rodriguez said. “It’s opening doors, and we hope to have more kids down the road sign to play at the next level. He’s a game-changer, a competitor who wants to go out there and win every time. When you have those type of kids, our job as coaches is a lot easier. He’s an impact player, and I have the upmost confidence that he’s going to have the same success at UTSA as long as he stays focused. He’s going to do good over there, and I’m very proud of the kid.”