AFTER waiting 23 years to win a cricket title, Kingston College (KC) have now won three titles in the last two years on the back of a gem of a player in Rajae McGeachy and an inspired coach in Shane Brooks, both of whom have reignited a sleeping cricket programme at North Street.

Brooks is a successful former KC captain, having led the Famed Purples to multiple titles in the late 1990s. Now, he has awakened a sleeping giant as KC won the ISSA Under-16 title in 2025 and 2026, the under-14 crown in 2025, and are favourites to retain the under-14 title this year.

Brooks has alongside him former teammate Kerry Scott and former Jamaica player Robert Samuels as fellow coaches, and KC are once again a force to be reckoned with.

After leaving KC as a player Brooks honed his coaching skills at Papine High School and led them to three titles in 2018 when they won the Grace Shield, the T20, and the all-island Spalding Cup crown.

“I’ve been back at KC now for four years. When I went there, you know, the entire programme basically was at a standstill or basically collapsed,” Brooks told the Jamaica Observer.

“A lot of background work was done. These guys were ripe and ready. And, as I said, we’re not surprised that we were able to retain our trophy,” he said.

Brooks said establishing a proper structure was the key to KC’s resurgence.

“I’m a coach that believes in a good system and a good programme; year one was focusing on implementing that system and putting that programme in place. So whenever you get young players, it doesn’t matter how good they are initially, once they stick to the programme, work hard with the programme, follow the coaches, remain disciplined and committed, they will become good players. And if they allow themselves and learn as fast as they should, they’ll become great players. And if they’re committed to the system and to the programme, KC will definitely benefit,” he said.

On Thursday, KC defeated St Jago High School to retain their under-16 urban title on the back of an outstanding display from 14-year-old McGeachy who made 28 in KC’s 135, and then took 7-26 as St Jago were bowled out for 77.

McGeachy took a hat-trick in one over and claimed three wickets in four balls in another over as KC won by 58 runs.

“Retaining the under-16 title was not a surprise to us this year. We had a good team last year, and we basically have most of the players who played in the finals and won last year, so we expected with the nucleus of the team remaining we should be able to carry home this under-16 this year,” Brooks said.

In 2025 McGeachy took 9-38 and made 35 not out as KC defeated Norman Manley High School for their first title in 23 years. McGeachy was just 13 years old then.

Now captain of both the under-14 and under-16 teams and already a member of Jamaica’s under-15 squad, McGeachy has earned high praise from Brooks who believes the youngster has a bright future in cricket.

“Young Rajae McGeachy is a very, very, very good young player. I admire his commitment, I admire his discipline and how humble he is, and I think if he remains disciplined and humble he’s one for the future,” Brooks said.

“I’m not going to go ahead and say, ‘Boy, he’s going to be great’ and stuff because a lot of times we go ahead of ourselves and get excited about young talent. But I like his commitment to hard work,” he said.

“He’s our under-16 and under-14 captain and he has led with pride, with a lot of character, and that is one of the things that shows a good trait of a cricketer — he has character. He works hard and he listens,” Brooks said.

Brooks said McGeachy’s statistics compare favourably with some of the best young cricketers to emerge from schoolboy cricket.

“Looking at young McGeachy’s stats, they are comparable to all the quality cricketers that have gone through the Grace Shield and have moved on to the Jamaica under-19 team, the Jamaica senior team, and the West Indies team. He’s just 14. Last year, when he was 13, he scored four separate individual 100s for KC. So far this year he has scored two, and within a year and a half at Kingston College he has scored six centuries — and the season is still ongoing. So, we’re looking for more 100s. His stats are very good,” he said.

“He has put forward brilliant performances in all the finals that he has played for Kingston College — and that’s a very good trait. When a youngster can step up on finals day and give a good performance, that shows character and shows that this young one is one for the future,” Brooks said.

“We are quite sure that once he remains disciplined, committed, keeps getting full support from his parents, the school and family, he will be an awesome player for Jamaica and for the West Indies,” he said.

Ironically, Brooks — who was the last captain to lead KC to under-16 titles in 1995 and 1996 and Sunlight Cup titles in 1998 and 1999 — is now leading the programme back to prominence. Brooks is also currently the head coach of Jamaica’s female under-19 and senior teams.

Kingston College cricketer Rajae McGeachy.