Major League Baseball, USA Baseball and Area Code Baseball on Tuesday announced that Hall of Famer Jim Thome and nine-time Gold Glover Torii Hunter will serve as managers for the 2026 High School All-American Game in Dyersville, Iowa. The game, which showcases the top high school baseball talent from the Class of 2027, is scheduled for Aug. 12 at 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT. The announcement was made live on MLB Network from the MLB Draft Combine in Phoenix, Arizona.
The seventh iteration of the High School All-American Game will be broadcast live on MLB Network for the first time, with Paul Severino, Dan Plesac, Jim Callis and Sande Charles on the call. Since its inception in 2019, the High School All-American Game has featured 41 players who were selected in the first round of the following year’s MLB Draft. Eli Willits (No. 1, 2025 MLB Draft) is one of eight players who participated in the High School All-American Game before being selected within the first five picks of the Draft. Fourteen former High School All-American Game players are currently playing Major League Baseball, and 15 former players currently rank in MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Prospects.
Thome will bring a storied 22-year career to the dugout as a manager at the High School All-American Game. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018 after hitting 612 home runs and driving in 1,699 runs over 22 seasons split between six Clubs. Thome was selected in the 13th round of the 1989 MLB Draft by the Cleveland Indians and debuted with the team in 1991. Overall, he spent 13 of his 22 seasons in Cleveland and sits atop the franchise leaderboard in home runs (337) and walks (1,008) while ranking third in RBI, fifth in total bases and sixth in runs scored. Thome – whose 612 career homers rank eighth all-time in MLB history – is currently the President of the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association and works as a Special Assistant to the General Manager for the White Sox.
One of the best outfielders of his generation, Hunter will serve as manager after a 19-year playing career. The Pine Bluff, Arkansas, native was selected with the 20th overall pick of the 1993 MLB Draft by the Minnesota Twins, with whom he would spend 12 of his 19 MLB seasons with. Hunter debuted in 1997 and won his first of nine consecutive Rawlings Gold Glove Awards in 2001. He appeared in five All-Star Games throughout his career, also collecting a pair of Silver Slugger Awards. Hunter, who finished his career with a .277 batting average, 353 home runs, and 1,391 RBI along with 195 stolen bases, ranks sixth all-time in Twins history with 214 homers for Minnesota and his seven Gold Gloves won with the Twins are the second-most all-time, behind Jim Kaat. He is currently a Special Assistant to the General Manager for the Los Angeles Angels.
The remainder of the coaching staff and the roster for the 2026 High School All-American Game will be announced at a later date. For more information on the High School All-American Game, as well as all of Major League Baseball’s youth initiatives, click HERE.