Baseball wasn’t always in the cards for University of St. Thomas recent graduate and finance major Isaac Odongo. Growing up he had aspirations to play soccer and rugby, but after earning the opportunity to attend Allen VR Stanley Secondary School, a high school in Uganda that focused on baseball, his fate was sealed.
Still, baseball didn’t come easily, and it took a while before it clicked.
“When I was 13 or 14, I hit my first home run and that changed everything,” Odongo said. “I started working extra hard, trying to see how many more homeruns I could get. After that, my life was in the cages trying to hit more homeruns and chasing that feeling.”
As Odongo continued to grow and get stronger and better, coaches told him that he had the talent and potential to play college baseball in the United States, but his best option to make it would be as a pitcher. At this point in his career, Odongo had focused on hitting, yet he navigated this transition with determination and grace. His work paid off as he received his first college acceptance letter in March 2020.
“I was very happy,” Odongo said. “Then five minutes later the president of Uganda announced a lockdown. It was bittersweet, like everything I had worked for, everything I might be able to achieve, I couldn’t because of Covid.”
So Odongo turned that setback into another opportunity, spending the months in lockdown applying to more colleges in the U.S. and continuing to practice. Eventually, he decided on attending the University of St. Thomas because Houston had a similar climate to his hometown in Uganda and there was a sizable Ugandan community in Houston.
Taking a Young Team to the Conference Tournament
Odongo jumped into baseball at UST mid-year and very quickly had to learn the new dynamics of life – navigating a new team, a new city, and new coursework. His teammates and professors made that transition a seamless one, and Odongo found himself enjoying the coursework, especially philosophy. Having a supportive community allowed him to thrive and find success in his first year on campus.
His teammates and professors made that transition a seamless one, and Odongo found himself enjoying the coursework, especially philosophy. Having a supportive community allowed him to thrive and find success in his first year on campus.
At that time, the baseball program was young, and the main goal was to make it to the conference tournament. It would be a good season that led to one of Odongo’s favorite moments in his career at UST. It was the last week of conference play, and they were slated to play against Centenary College. UST needed to win two of the three games in that series to qualify for the conference tournament. The first game could not have gone any worse, and they lost 19-1.
“We worked so hard the whole year trying to make it to this tournament,” Odongo said. “That first game knocked the air out of us. You could see the doubt on everybody’s face after the game. But with everything that the coaches were preaching and everything we had worked on, the next game was like a completely different day.”
UST walked into that second game and took control, winning 11-1 in what seemed like a quick seven innings. They would go on to win the final game of the series 8-7, marking their first foray in the conference tournament. They finished the tournament with one win and two losses.
One week later, Odongo began to feel discomfort in his elbow and spent the summer trying to work through it, but the pain persisted, and Odongo had to have surgery, effectively ending his sophomore season before it even started. Rehab went well and going into his junior season, Odongo was feeling at the top of his form. While returning to Houston from a trip to Uganda, Odongo fell sick, throwing his pitching progression off schedule and limiting his playing time that season. Still, Odongo remained focused on recovery and his schoolwork.
While many who experienced so many setbacks might fall into anger or resentment, Odongo maintained a grateful and hopeful attitude. Through the support of his teammates and coaches he was able to remain positive, but it was a nephew, Emmanuel, who continued to motivate him the most.
“Back in high school my favorite number was 24,” Odongo said. “My high school had every single number uniform – from 0 to 99 – only the number 24 was missing. So I asked Emmanuel what his favorite number was and he said 92. So I started wearing 92. When I see that number now, I think of him and how from a very young age he has had to fight for everything he has. He always sets goals for himself and over and over again he delivers. He constantly keeps winning and I want to keep winning the way he does.”
Now, at the end of his career and education at St. Thomas, Odongo is preparing for the next phase of life.
“There is a lot going on with restrictions for international students,” Odongo said. “The goal is to stay in the U.S. through any legal means. I'm speaking to employers to find a path to legal work here, but the process is long.”
Staying means the opportunity to work and continue to help support his family in Uganda, especially his nephew who is in high school now. If staying is not an option, Odongo has already begun conversations with his high school coaches regarding coaching baseball there.
“I’m still very ambitious and I’m looking forward to more challenges and to inspire where I can,” Odongo said. “I want to be kind, to show love to people, to be helpful if I can. I feel that’s where I measure my success. Yeah, I think that’s a good way to measure it.”