A hometown trip to Chicago means a visit with beloved ACE program for Ray

CHICAGO – Corey Ray stood in front of a group of 13U players from the White Sox Amateur City Elite program prior to Friday’s Nationals-White Sox game and saw himself at the same age.

“I was there, I was those guys,” said the 31-year-old Chicago native, now the Nationals' first-base coach, prior to addressing members of that ACE team. “To come on a Major League field, look at a Major League practice, to be able to talk to a Major League coach and Major League players, it was something I remember going back to talking to Juan Pierre, and Scott Podsednik and Frank Thomas and those guys.

“A lot of what they told me held true and I still remember it today. So hopefully I can give these guys some gems that can help them become the best versions of themselves.”

ACE helped Ray, a married father of three, become the best version of himself. He provides nothing but praise for this wonderful program started in 2007 “to reverse the declining interest and participation in baseball among African American youth, while offering resources and mentorship to pull kids away from the dangers of some of Chicago’s most violent neighborhoods,” according to the program’s web page.

Ray has become the gold standard of accomplishments, baseball-wise, coming from ACE. He was their highest Draft pick, selected at No. 5 overall by the Brewers in 2016 out of Louisville. He was the first ACE individual to reach the Majors with one game and three plate appearances for Milwaukee in 2021.

Although other ACE graduates have found success coaching in the Minors, Ray became its first Major League hire upon joining Washington manager Blake Butera’s staff. Let’s move past baseball, because the on-field play is one small part of the ACE experience.

More than 115 ACE players have earned college degrees, with more than 110 currently enrolled in college. ACE gave these individuals a chance to be seen by colleges, and in turn, gave them a chance to have an education, and quality of life potentially not there without its guidance.

“Absolutely. I don’t know if I ever would have gone to Louisville if it wasn’t for the Chicago White Sox ACE. A lot of the players wouldn’t have been able to afford college,” Ray said. “You are talking 70 percent of the team who would have had to go JUCO or D2 or something like that because they wouldn’t have been able to get seen by schools like Vanderbilt.

“My best friend, Ro Coleman, went to Vanderbilt and you are talking about a kid from the South Side, playing baseball, earning a degree. Now he’s coaching with Vanderbilt … I think you will start to see teams mimic [ACE].”

This vast ACE impact is noticed by those White Sox staff members not directly coaching one of the teams or advising the program. White Sox manager Will Venable has been entrenched in ACE since his arrival, and has greater future plans for involvement, which will be rolled out as some of those things are solidified.

“That’s what it’s all about, supporting these guys’ growth individually,” Venable said. “Helping them take advantage, create and take advantage of opportunities. It’s such a good group of talented people worthy of every opportunity out there and it’s really nice there’s an organization that supports them.”

Support for Ray ran from legendary Simeon High School baseball coach Leroy Franklin to coach Dan McDonnell at Louisville. He also mentioned people such as Dan Puente and Kevin Coe among the large number of ACE influences.

For a short time on Friday, Ray held that same role before parts of baseball’s future.

“Just enjoy it, embrace it, do everything they can to make it last as long as possible,” said Ray of his message. “Most of those guys are probably better than I was at their age, and I’m standing on a big league field.

“You never know. All you can do is put your heart and soul in everything you do … [For ACE] to be able to give kids those experiences and those opportunities, they are second to none. They will follow them their entire life.”