The 18-year-old is leaving Melbourne to study at Grayson County College on a full baseball scholarship.

International experience isn't foreign to the Ringwood Saints (winter) and Upwey Tigers (summer) starting pitcher.

Since taking up the sport as an eight year old, largely due to his father's condemnation of cricket, he has represented Victoria five times and Australia three.

Jones represented Australia at the 2008 under-19 world championships in Canada. His highlights of the competition include pitching against the US team and being a part of the team to beat the host nation. "Being in the game was just crazy," he said.

Jones has his sights set firmly on a major league career after he completes a degree in design and architecture.

Unlike most young ballplayers with the similar goal, Jones knocked back a contract with the Cincinnati Reds major league franchise (as a 17-year-old) in order to get an education "to fall back on". "I want to study first, then play. This is my chance to do both."

Grayson County College baseball head coach Dusty Hart is excited to have Jones enter the fray for the Vikings.

"Quality left-handed pitchers are very hard to come by, especially with the experiences Andrew has had internationally. We believe Andrew is the type of kid who, with a few more years, might have a chance to play pro baseball."

The 180-centimetre student can throw a 135km/h-plus fastball, but turns to his change-up and off-speed pitches to get out of a jam.

"I hope by playing in Texas and in the college system I can build on the velocity - I want to throw as hard as I can," Jones said. "It's not going to be easy against big Americans throwing 90 mile an hour (144km/h) fastballs."

At the end of his two-year community college degree, Jones plans to switch to a four-year course in Texas or Florida.

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