Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Baseball Pitcher Ahmed Garcia Becomes United States Citizen
6/30/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 30, 2011
Boca Raton, Fla. - Florida Atlantic University baseball player Ahmed Garcia has realized a personal goal by becoming a citizen of the United States. The Cuban native recently completed the citizenship test and took the loyalty oath.
Garcia, a junior left-handed pitcher, fled to Miami with his parents, two brothers and grandmother when he was 10 years old. He graduated from South Miami High School.
"I started playing baseball as soon as I got here," Garcia told NCAA.com for a story published earlier this year. "Baseball was the key to my success. I didn't need to speak English to play baseball. It's like math . . . it's the same in America or Cuba or China or Japan. It was like a bridge that helped me adapt to this country."
Read the entire NCAA.com feature story here.
Garcia ranked second on the team with 22 appearances during the 2010-11 season -- all coming as a relief pitcher. He compiled a 1-2 record, had a 3.92 earned run average and tallied 16 strikeouts compared to six walks in 41.1 innings.
FAU tied for fourth place in the Sun Belt Conference this season with a 17-13 league mark and 32-25 overall record.
