Mason Fletcher, the son of 400-game AFL legend Dustin, has begun his punting journey after accepting a full scholarship at the University of Cincinnati.
Fletcher announced his commitment via Twitter, becoming yet another ProKick alumni to be snapped up by a U.S. college.
Over the moon to announce I have accepted a full scholarship to study and play football at the University of Cincinnati!! Keen to get to work!! @GoBearcatsFB #CinCityPride pic.twitter.com/8a4aSKEUl3
— Mason Fletcher (@MasonFletcher19) May 14, 2020
The AFL club where his father played 400 games, Essendon, had looked at the 6-foot-7 athlete as a potential father-son prospect before his decision to quit the Australian sport.
Fletcher had played at NAB League club Calder Cannons but was plagued by back injuries.
The Cincinnati Bearcats play in the AAC Division and finished the 2019 season with an 11-3 record. They have another Aussie and former ProKick student as their incumbent punter for this season - James Smith from Wangaratta.
Fletcher said he was excited at the prospect of living in Cincinnati and joining the football program.
"In my first few conversations with Johnny [ProKick's John Smith], he mentioned how similar Cincinnati was to Melbourne, which immediately put me at ease. The sporting culture in the city of Cincinnati was also a massive drawcard for myself as my home town, Melbourne, is known as the sporting capital of Australia," Fletcher told 247sports.com.
"In my [AFL] draft year, I suffered an injury and really fell out of love with the sport - I then made the decision to forgo the draft and got into contact with Nathan Chapman and John Smith - they had both seen me kick an AFL ball and I had a session with them and loved it. The rest is history."