Living the American Dream, one strikeout at a time

Before Christmas, Fidel Ulloa Jr.’s was a name that you will likely have never heard. But his story is one of the American dream, writ large. A young kid from Lodi, California, with dreams bigger than the fields he grew up playing on, his father, Fidel Ulloa Sr. is a hardworking painter from Nayarit, Mexico, who often came home late, covered in paint, offering his son advice, “Try hard in sports and your studies so you don’t have to work like this.”

“Echale ganas!” he’d say, a phrase urging his son to give it his all. And give it his all, Fidel Jr. did. These days, you will find him in Baton Rouge with the LSU Tigers.

Now, let’s rewind a bit. Fidel Sr., at 19, left his hometown of La Curva, Nayarit, chasing the American dream. His wife, Norma Ceja, hails from Michoacan and works at a winery. Together, they’ve shown their kids what hard work looks like.

“Both my parents have worked ever since I was little,” Fidel Jr. says. “Going to work early and then coming home super late. My mom would always have a cooked meal for us even after she got home from work. I always thought that meant a lot. They always did the best they could to take care of me and my younger siblings. I’m just super grateful.”

Fidel Sr., when not working, could often be found playing catch with his sons or in his own baseball games. He’s still playing at 43, a catcher for Los Diablos in the Cal-Mex Sunday league. Little Fidel Jr. tagged along, glove and bat in hand, soaking up the game from a young age.

“He was always walking behind me with his glove and bat,” Fidel Sr. recalls. “Since he was six years old, he would go with me to my games.”

Despite his love for the game, Fidel Jr. didn’t draw any Division I attention out of Lodi High. But he shone at San Joaquin Delta College, catching the eye of LSU head coach Jay Johnson. Thanks to a tip from Delta College’s Reed Peters and Brian Kohndrow, Johnson was convinced they needed Ulloa.

“They called me last fall,” Johnson says. “They said, ‘Hey, I know what you’re doing right now, but we actually have a guy.’ So I immediately sent Josh (Jordan) out there. He saw him, and he’s like, ‘Coach, we need to get him.’”

Fidel Jr. committed to LSU while on another recruiting visit, a move that made Johnson smile. Now, as a member of the LSU Tigers, Fidel Jr. is making waves.

“Obviously what we all want to accomplish is a national championship,” he says. “Being a transfer, it’s pretty cool. Coming from a junior college it’s a pretty different experience.”

Fidel Sr. is filled with pride, reminiscing about the obstacles his son overcame. “His brothers admire him,” he says. “We have great pride to see him there. When he was very young, it was my dream to see him play in college. That was my dream for him.”

Fidel Jr. is showing the world how far ganas and talent can take you. From Lodi to LSU, he’s living out his parents’ dreams and proving there’s a place for Mexican Americans at the highest level of college baseball.

With the MLB Draft this weekend, there is a chance, an outside chance, but a chance nonetheless, that Ulloa will attract attention further afield than Baton Rouge. But taking that outside chance is something that Ulloa is used to.

Whether he stays at LSU or takes a leap to the MLB, one thing is clear: Fidel Ulloa Jr. is a name we’ll be hearing for a long time.