BROWNSVILLE — Our Lady of the Lake University’s baseball roster has 13 players from the Rio Grande Valley.
Add another one.
Brownsville Veterans Memorial’s Juan B. Garcia IV signed to play baseball with the San Antonio university on Wednesday at Brownsville Veterans High School.
“I have a lot of friends that are already there,” Garcia said. “I am excited, this is not just for me, but my family as well. I want to thank them.”
Garcia has teammates from the South Texas Sliders, a youth baseball team, who also committed to Our Lady of the Lake University and former Chargers players currently on the roster.
The senior is playing catcher for the Chargers but can play anywhere the team needs him, he said. The senior has played multiple positions under head coach Adam Vera.
“It is really nice,” he said. “It is a small university that is family oriented. I felt really welcome there.”
In San Antonio, the senior is going to study kinesiology and hopes to stay near sports after graduating. The Owls play competitively in the Red River Athletic Conference of the NAIA.
Garcia has power in his bat. The senior leads the Chargers with three home runs this season. Brownsville Veterans is second in District 32-5A with five games remaining.
“I feel like we did not start out the best,” Garcia said. “But we are on a good streak right now, hopefully it does not end.”
The Chargers are on a seven-game winning streak and have important series coming up against Brownsville Porter and Harlingen South to end the season.
Brownsville Veterans Memorial faces Brownsville Pace at 7 p.m. tonight at Brownsville Veterans High School.