Team Rosters
The rosters of the 50 HBCU student-athletes playing in the third annual “HBCU Swingman Classic presented by T-Mobile & powered by the MLB-MLBPA Youth Development Foundation” on Friday, July 11, at Truist Park were announced live on MLB Network from the 2025 MLB Draft Combine.
The event takes place during MLB All-Star Week and highlights players from Historically Black College and Universities (HBCU) across the country. The players were selected by a committee which included Hall of Famer and MLB-MLBPA YDF Global Ambassador Ken Griffey Jr., who the event is named after, in addition to representatives from MLB, the MLBPA, and across the baseball scouting community.
Former Atlanta Braves greats Brian Jordan and David Justice were named managers for the contest with Jordan leading the National League team, and Justice managing the American League squad.
Special guests who will serve as honorary VIPs during the event include Hall of Famer & HBCU alumni Andre Dawson, former Major League Manager Dusty Baker, three-time All-Star & two-time World Series Champion Ken Griffey Sr., and All-Star & HBCU alumni Ralph Garr Sr. Both team’s coaching staffs will feature a collection of former players that the participants can look up to and learn from including:
The 50 players were selected from the following HBCUs:
- Alabama A&M University
- Alcorn State University
- Bethune-Cookman University
- Coppin State University
- Florida A&M University
- Grambling State University
- Jackson State University
- Mississippi Valley State University
- Morehouse College
- Norfolk State University
- North Carolina A&T University
- Prairie View A&M University
- Southern University
- Texas Southern University
- University of Arkansas Pine Bluff
- University of Maryland Eastern Shore
In addition to their upcoming participation in the HBCU Swingman Classic, several student-athletes have participated in elite-level development program events otherwise known as MLB Develops programming, notably the Hank Aaron Invitational (powered by the MLB-MLBPA Youth Development Foundation) and Breakthrough Series.
These players include Joseph Eichelberger, who has participated in the Breakthrough Series; Irvin Escobar, who has participated in the Breakthrough Series and Hank Aaron Invitational; and Jaylon Burrell, Kylan Duncan and Tyler Smith, who have participated in the Hank Aaron Invitational.
Escobar (2023 AL & 2024 NL) leads a group of eight players with his third appearance in the HBCU Swingman Classic, joined by Juan Cruz (2024 AL); Erick Gonzalez (2023 AL); Justin Journette (2024 AL); Jafet Martinez (2024 AL); Eichelberger (2024 AL); Robert Tate Jr. (2024 AL); and Jamal Ritter (2024 NL), who are each making their second appearance.
Please
click here for the full roster of the participants selected for the upcoming HBCU Swingman Classic.
About the SWAC
The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) is considered one of the premier HBCU conferences in the country and currently ranks among the elite in the nation in terms of HBCU alumni playing with professional sports teams.
Current championship competition offered by the league includes competition for men in Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field and Tennis.
Women’s competition is offered in the sports of Basketball, Bowling, Cross Country, Golf, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field, Soccer, Softball, Tennis and Volleyball.
Follow the SWAC
For complete coverage of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, please follow the SWAC on social media at @TheSWAC (Twitter), @TheSWAC (Facebook), and @TheSWAC (Instagram) or visit the official home of the Southwestern Athletic Conference at www.swac.org.