Courtesy of Air Force Athletics
COLORADO SPRINGS- On Tuesday, Major League Baseball concluded the 2024 First-Year Player Draft, as Air Force standouts Sam Kulasingam and Jay Thomason heard their name called during the event’s final day.
Kulasingam, a 17th-round pick by the Toronto Blue Jays in last year’s draft, was selected in the 13th round (377th overall) by the Kansas City Royals. The Second Lieutenant graduated from the Academy as the Falcons all-time hit leader with 305 career hits while also maintaining a time share with Garrett Custons as the program’s all-time doubles leader with 77. In his four seasons at Air Force, Kulasingam managed a .377 batting average in 206 career games, posting a 1.068 career OPS. His career came to a close having played in 179-consecutive games.
One of only four players to win the Mountain West’s Tony Gwynn Player of the Year award twice, Kulasingam’s 305 career hits are fourth-most by a player in conference history, as are his 77 career doubles. The superstar switch-hitter’s career .470 on-base percentage is the third-best mark in Mountain West history. He becomes the first Air Force player in program history to be selected by the Royals.
Thomason, the all-time home run leader in the Mountain West, was later chosen by the Minnesota Twins in the 17th round (518th overall). Earning Co-Player of the Year honors from the conference in 2024, Thomason broke the Mountain West all-time home run record earlier this spring, as his 58 career homers are the most by any player since the Mountain West’s inception in 2000. The Alabaman was an overwhelming force for the Falcons in his final collegiate spring, managing a .358/.452/.763 slash in all 55 of Air Force’s games. Matching his 2023 total with 21 home runs, Thomason is the only player in Air Force history to record multiple seasons of at least 21 home runs in program history. His 21 homers led all players in the Mountain West for the second-consecutive season.
In 194 career games, Thomason managed a .348/.435/.687 slash line to go with 30 career stolen bases.
Thomason joins Griffin Jax (2016) as the only other player in Air Force history to be selected by the Twins. Adding Thomason, Air Force has now seen 12 different players be chosen in the MLB Draft since the event’s creation in 1965.
