Shane Brooks and Rajae McGeachy drive Kingston College cricket revival

Kingston College waited more than two decades for a cricket championship. In the space of two years, the North Street programme has lifted three trophies, powered by standout all-rounder Rajae McGeachy and head coach Shane Brooks, who together have revived a side that had gone quiet on the pitch.

Brooks captained the Famed Purples during a successful spell in the late 1990s, when KC regularly claimed honours. He has returned to steer the school through a sharp upturn: ISSA Under-16 titles in 2025 and 2026, an Under-14 crown in 2025, and strong prospects of holding the younger grade again this season. Kerry Scott, a former teammate, and ex-Jamaica representative Robert Samuels share the coaching bench, and KC once more rank among the schools others must plan for.

After his playing days at KC, Brooks built his résumé at Papine High School. In 2018 he guided that programme to three championships—the Grace Shield, a T20 title, and the all-island Spalding Cup.

“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 pointed to structure as the foundation of the turnaround. “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 beat St Jago High School to keep the Under-16 urban championship. Fourteen-year-old McGeachy scored 28 in the Purples’ 135, then returned 7 for 26 as St Jago were dismissed for 77. KC won by 58 runs. In one over he completed a hat-trick; in another he claimed three wickets from four deliveries.

“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.

The 2025 breakthrough came when McGeachy, then 13, took 9 for 38 and made 35 not out as KC beat Norman Manley High School to end the 23-year drought. He now leads both the Under-14 and Under-16 squads and has already been selected for Jamaica’s Under-15 side.

Brooks rates the teenager highly but urges patience. “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,” he 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 numbers stack up against the best products of school 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,” he 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.

Brooks was the last KC captain to lift Under-16 titles in 1995 and 1996 and Sunlight Cup trophies in 1998 and 1999. He now finds himself guiding the same programme back toward that level of prominence. Away from North Street, he also serves as head coach of Jamaica’s female Under-19 and senior national teams.