CHICAGO – Family.
Personal development. Positive role models. Hard work.
Excellence, on and off the field. Fun.
Those phrases were used by the 19 individuals taking part in the White Sox Amateur City Elite collegiate signing day Wednesday night at Rate Field when asked to share what ACE meant to them. Amira Hondras then stood up and presented her thoughts.
“Opportunity,” was one of the first words said by the 17-year-old Hondras. Opportunity, as in Hondras became the first female player in ACE history when she originally joined the 12U team. Opportunity, as in she was honored on the field before Game 2 of the 2025 World Series as MLB Develops’ Most Valuable Player.
And opportunity, with Hondras being selected by Los Angeles in the fourth round of the first Women’s Pro Baseball League Draft. The soon-to-be graduate of Thornwood High School in South Holland, Ill., is a groundbreaker, a role model, living her baseball dream.
The groundbreaker idea at such a youthful age brought a brief laugh from Hondras, before speaking about what it meant to be in such a position.
“It’s being able to inspire younger girls to know that they can do what they want to do. They can play baseball,” said Hondras, before taking part in the ceremony in front of friends and family in the White Sox home clubhouse. “They can be trailblazers in this sport.
“Ultimately just being a trailblazer means the world. Having that representation means the world to me. I’m super excited.”
This outstanding ACE program was created by the organization in 2007. It was aimed at “providing a pathway to the game of baseball for 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 mission statement.
With Wednesday’s honorees included, there have now been more than 330 college scholarships for players within the program. More than 130 ACE participants have earned college degrees, more than 150 participants have competed at the Division 1 level and 33 have been selected in MLB’s Draft.
Darius Day and Blake Hickman, ACE alumni, made their professional coaching debuts within the last two years. Shai Robinson, another former ACE player who was taken by Minnesota in the 10th round of the 2025 Draft, was one of the speakers in Wednesday’s panel discussion as part of the overall program.
“They developed me as a player by instilling discipline, hard work and consistency. I didn’t have a routine growing up. They developed me to figure out what I wanted to do,” said Ameer Rule, who will go from Simeon High School to play at Miles College. “They developed me as a person as being a team player.
“I kind of grew up on the mindset of I don’t want to be the best player on a team. I want to be one of the best players on the team surrounded by a great team. It developed me to stay humble and just keep working. Baseball is a sport where you can’t be stagnant. If you are, you are failing. ACE teaches you how to be a good team player and be good for yourself too.”
There’s much more to ACE than baseball. There’s a focus on education and mental health, as the White Sox develop the person as well as the player. They form a baseball family.
“That’s the part of the program that makes me the proudest,” said Troy Williams, the White Sox director of ACE and Community Baseball Programs. “You hear that and you are like, 'This thing is a little bigger than baseball. This is family.'
“To hear them talk beyond baseball is probably my favorite piece. Every year, that’s a common theme here. We talk about brotherhood and how many friends I made and who I can call just when I’m having a tough day.”
Williams also termed Hondras’ story as “super special” and spoke of her fundamentally sound on-field play and high baseball IQ. Now Hondras must decide about her baseball future.
Will Hondras play softball in college and then still be eligible to play women’s pro baseball? Will she choose baseball in college? Or will she take some time off to play pro baseball? ACE helped make Hondras’ decision possible.
“I’ve been getting the same question every day since the Draft happened,” said a smiling Hondras. “It’s a big decision and something that’s been weighing on me a little bit. But I visited schools and the coaches are amazingly supportive. I’m grateful for the coaches being that supportive of me and let me take my time.”