HBCU All-Star baseball weekend coming to Charlotte

MINORITY BASEBALL PROSPECTS

The HBCU All-Star Weekend May 29-31 in Charlotte and Kannapolis includes baseball and softball games, battle of the bands, free youth clinic and competitions like fastest man races.

The best Black college baseball and softball players will display their talents next week in Charlotte and Kannapolis.

The HBCU All-Star Weekend May 29-31 showcases on HBCU players that aren’t always in the spotlight. Weekend passes are $50 and available at minorityprospects.com/HBCU. Individual event tickets are also available.
The battle of the bands (May 29) and baseball game (May 31) will be held at Atrium Health Ballpark, 1 Cannonballer Way in Kannapolis. The softball game (May 30) is at Stick Williams Dream Fields, 7531 Tuckaseegee Road.

All events are scheduled from 7-9 p.m.

In addition to the games, the weekend includes a free youth clinic, home run derby and fastest player competition. 

“I’m a graduate and former head coach of an HBCU,” said Reggie Hollins, president and CEO of Minority Baseball Prospects, the showcase’s sponsor. “There has always been a rich history, tradition, and a strong sense of pride at HBCUs. It’s extremely important for us to continue creating national exposure and visibility; it motivates our student-athletes and brings growth to our institutions.”

Said local organizer Jeff Johnson: “I think that the greatest thing with this event is that all of our guys are not coming from just one division or one conference. We’ve got guys from Division I, II and III, junior college and NAIA.  This gives us a real sense of, ‘hey, we're fulfilling this mission, and that mission is to get out there, find these folks, expose them, elevate them, and give them opportunities.’”

The showcase is the result of long-term partnerships with Atlanta-based MBP, whose alumni include 55 players drafted by Major League clubs and 525 collegiate baseball and softball athletes.

“This is the fifth one, and it is the culmination of a lot of hard work, especially by the guys who started it as Minority Prospects, but the brand has grown,” Johnson said. “Over the last two or three years, it has really just expanded. … This event is bringing together 44 of the best HBCU softball players and baseball players that will be playing in specific games.”

The showcase is more than games. The battle of the bands includes performances from West Mecklenburg, West Charlotte, Salisbury and North Mecklenburg high schools, as well as the North Carolina HBCU Alumni Mass Band. 

“This is our first annual battle of the bands,” Johnson said. “This is how we position it, because we want to always integrate ourselves in the local community. We have the HBCU alumni band that’s going to be coming out there doing stuff. And along with them, we've got the West Mecklenburg band, North Mecklenburg band, West Charlotte and Salisbury. They’re just going to put on a show.”

Johnson admits All-Star Weekend won’t likely reach the notoriety of the Savannah Bananas — who are essentially the Harlem Globetrotters of baseball — but wants the showcase to expand.

“I just want to see very positive strategic growth,” he said. “And that's the most important thing, because maybe anybody can go out there and have a tournament here or there, but can they do a tournament that is substantial, that means something that could last a while? It is five years for this, let’s do another 25. To see young people going after their goals and not being afraid to fail, because baseball is nothing but a game of failure. To see them strive for their goals is what I want to continue to see.”

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