O’Neill Burgos, Southern University senior catcher, left his hometown of Juncos, Puerto Rico to pursue his lifelong dream of playing baseball. 
“I had people that helped me and supported me throughout these hard times,” Burgos says when talking about the difficulty of a language barrier when moving to America. 
Burgos has proved that he had no problems playing baseball. Burgos hit the game-winning home run in the 2019 SWAC Championship game to give Southern its nineteenth SWAC title. Burgos says, “As a ballplayer, you always should play with a chip on your shoulder.” 
When asked about the upcoming season Burgos says that there are many goals he has for him and his teammates. “We really want our guys to be the best they can be. I want to see if I can get a chance at playing at the next level.”
Alabama State defeated Southern in 14 innings in 2022. Burgos says that Southern is coming for the title this year. “That’s definitely our goal. That’s not what our max goal is though.”
Burgos says that the ultimate goal would be to “show the young guys they can do it too.”
Burgos, like many baseball players, has a superstition. Burgos watches Adam Sandler’s “The Waterboy,” before every game. This tradition started at Jones Community College where he watched the movie for the time at 17-years-old.
“Sometimes I miss it, but there’s times where you are like let’s put it on just in case,” Burgos says.
Burgos also has a few more pregame rituals that he sticks to during a gameday.
“I wake up, make my pancakes, listen to my music on the way, and before a game I’ll pray.” 
O’Neill Burgos and Southern University kick off their season on Friday, Feb. 17 in Houston as they go on to play Jackson State University.