A Call to Serve Beyond the Diamond By John Kocsis Jr.
Sam Kulasingam’s time in the Soda City was brief, but memorable. When the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers came to town August 6-11, fans got their first taste of the Royals’ 2024 draft class. Some of those players, like Colton Becker, Carter Frederick and Zachary Cawyer are still in Columbia, but Kulasingam has already been moved up to Quad Cities.
For those who know Sam, it isn’t surprising that he impressed the Royals brass enough to earn a quick call to High-A, but for those who don’t, here’s a little background into the utility player. Kulasingam attended the Air Force Academy and won back-to-back Tony Gwynn Mountain West Player of the Year Awards before the Royals scooped him in the 13th round of this year’s draft. There aren’t a lot of players who have won the Tony Gwynn Award multiple times. In fact, Kulasingam is just the fourth player to do it, joining C.J. Cron, Mitch Garver and DJ Peterson. Cron had a 10-year Major League career that peaked with an All- Star appearance, Garver helped win the 2023 World Series and DJ Peterson climbed his way through Independent and Minor League Baseball to play 418 games in Triple-A before he retired. Sam took a path that isn’t very common for professional players. He enrolled in a military academy rather than playing at a big-name school to get more scout’s attention. “I chose Air Force Academy because the opportunities that it would give to me, both on and off the baseball field.” The Royals’ prospect relayed. The Holly Springs, North Carolina native does plan to serve after he finishes his baseball career. After graduation, a student in the Air Force Academy becomes a Commissioned Officer in the U.S. Air Force or the Space Force. After school, graduates must serve eight years with five of those years being active-duty years. There are certain exceptions and certain students who have longer commitments after graduating additional secondary schools for medical or flight. Kulasingam does plan on honoring his service requirement after baseball is over. “At the end of the day, baseball is just a game. No one is going to die, but in war people can die,” he said. “But at the end of the day, this is a game, whereas war is the next game after this.” Sam has a flight slot in the Air Force after his baseball career wraps up. His path won’t be very clear for him until he gets started. “Everyone starts flying Cessnas and prop planes. Then once you do that for awhile, you will track to T-1s and T-38s.” Sam explained. “One is a heavy track and the other is a jet track. From there, how you score and do in your pilot class determines the route that you would go.”
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