The HBCU Swingman Classic presented by USA Baseball is back.
Philadelphia will be the site of this year’s HBCU showcase, which brings together 50 top Division I talents to showcase their skills on a national stage during All-Star Week. The game will take place at Citizens Bank Park on July 10 at 7 p.m. ET, and tickets are now available for purchase.
The pool of players is hand-selected by a committee that includes MLB, scouts and Baseball Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr.
The latter is the event’s founder, who took inspiration from his own father’s philanthropic work within baseball and spearheaded a vision that came to life in 2023.
“Not everybody goes to a Power 5 conference. Not everybody can afford to pay the $30, $40, $50 thousand dollars a year to play baseball,” Griffey told MLB Network ahead of the inaugural Classic in Seattle.
“It gives an opportunity for these guys to be seen, plus they want to continue their baseball career like everybody else. And this is an opportunity for those guys to be out there on a big stage, to have some fun with some good guys who played the game at a high level, and learn some things.”
The level of instruction available to selected players is unmatched.
Names of the game don’t get much bigger than Griffey's, whose career numbers -- including 630 career homers (seventh all time) -- rank among the greatest who’ve ever played.
And as the years have gone by, Griffey has continued to expand his list of who’s who to aid him in the instructional department.
That list includes Ken Griffey Sr., Dusty Baker, Andre Dawson, CC Sabathia, Michael Bourn, Harold Reynolds, Ralph Garr, Marvin Freeman, Brian Jordan (who managed last year’s National League team) and David Justice (who managed the American League squad).
The 2023 event saw three players drafted by Major League teams, while two more Classic alumni were selected in 2024.
In 2025, that number matched the sum of the first two, with five former participants hearing their name called. Those names were Kyle Walker (formerly of Grambling State; transferred to Arizona State), Broedy Poppell (Florida A&M), Cardell Thibodeaux (Southern), Juan Cruz and Kameron Douglas (both out of Alabama State). Douglas pitched and homered in the ‘25 game at Atlanta’s Truist Park, while Thibodeaux led all DI hitters in slugging percentage (.847) last year.
“It’s a dream come true,” Thibodeaux said of participating in the Classic. “We always like to be seen by the right guys. … We all love to play the game, love to play the game the right way. It’s a dream.”
For Griffey, the Classic is about more than just on-field performance. It’s a foundation for fostering relationships to last long after their playing careers.
“The main thing is trying to get these kids some exposure and have them see the guys that played before them, and have a chance to … get to know these guys,” Griffey said during last year’s game. “Whether they’re big league players or not, [they] have a chance to work in baseball. Just giving kids an opportunity [to] dream to be around the sport that we love.”
As for what we can expect from the game itself?
“A lot of talent, a lot of guys having fun, a lot of smiles,” Thibodeaux said with a smile. “Just playing the game the right way.”