Uganda’s baseball future brightens as semi-professional players shine abroad

Uganda’s semi-professional baseball players believe the sport’s future is beginning to look brighter after spending the past two years developing within the American baseball system.

Allan Ajoti and Joseph Deng are currently making their semi-professional debuts with the Dodgers team in the Dominican Republic, while Nicholas Alumi is combining his studies with baseball in the United States.

The trio returned home for the Christmas holidays and featured in the two-day Baseball X-Mas Tournament organised by the Uganda Baseball Community at the National Baseball Ground in Gayaza.

All three were nurtured by Dodgers Baseball Club in Nakirebe, Mpigi District, before graduating to international status in pursuit of professional careers with the top Dodgers organization in the US.

Alumi, a pitcher in his second year at university, encouraged Ugandan players to invest time and passion in the sport, noting that professional opportunities are opening up.

“Opportunities are abundant in baseball, but you have to be prepared and deserving. There are now many scouts in the US closely following Uganda after we proved that the talent exists,” he said.

Ajoti, a catcher, stressed that success in baseball depends on skill and discipline rather than physical size. He explained that reaching the top professional league in the US requires progressing through five competitive levels, each typically taking a year.

Uganda Baseball and Softball Association (UBSA) president John Bosco Sempa expressed optimism about the growing talent pool and appealed to government to elevate baseball and softball to second-tier sponsorship.

“Our agenda is to start calling these players back to represent the national team. The last men’s World Cup qualification campaign we participated in was in 2019, and some of these players featured before going abroad,” Sempa said.

He added that Uganda has more players developing overseas, including Umar Male and Ben Serunkuma in the US, while Musa Azedi, Fred Kyazze, Denis Kasumba, and Allan Kabenge are pursuing semi-professional careers in Japan.

Sempa also praised Uganda’s U-15 team, which competed in the continental World Cup qualifiers in Kenya in December. The tournament was streamed globally, attracting interest from international scouts now monitoring some of the young players.