Smiles abounded all around at the 2025 HBCU Swingman Classic presented by T-Mobile on Friday. Hosted at Atlanta’s Truist Park, the Classic brought together 50 top players across the HBCU landscape for a night of baseball, celebration, joy, and of course, smiles.
And ironically, a man named Smiley drove in the go-ahead run for the National League team. The man: DeMarkus Smiley, an Alabama State catcher whose one-out groundout plated Trey Bridges to put the National League up a run in the bottom of the eighth inning. Smiley went station-to-station following his RBI thanks to three consecutive singles from the NL squad. He scored on the latter of the three, which capped the NL’s 7-4 win.
The three-run inning put a bow on a spirited effort from the NL, which put up six unanswered runs after trailing 4-1 in the sixth. NL manager Brian Jordan jokingly let his adversary David Justice know about the one-upmanship following the game. But jokes aside, both spoke adamantly about the game’s significance, emphasizing that it reached far beyond Truist’s chalked lines.
That it did.
It was a chance for players to be seen and scouted. Even for those who won’t play pro ball, it was a chance to make lasting connections that could serve them for life. It was a celebration of Black baseball -- past, present and future -- and all of the invaluable impacts African-Americans have made on the game (including Classic founder Ken Griffey Jr.). And it was a homage to Black culture, rife with band performances, dance routines, and Greek step shows.
The breadth of the event’s impact is impossible to calculate, and while chapter 2025 of the HBCU Swingman Classic was full of momentous moments, these are the ones that stood tall above the rest.
Two-way stars
Jordan and Justice raved about the talent level on display Friday, and it’s easy to see why. Speed, power and skill were all abundant, but perhaps most impressive of all was the presence of two-way players.
Kameron Douglas, who glowed at the idea of his family attending such a magnitudinous game in his home state, broke a 0-0 tie with a 417-foot HR to center field in the second inning. His NL teammate Jay Campbell -- a Florida A&M freshman -- notched the game’s only other homer in the seventh, corking a moonshot to left center.
“I didn’t [know it was gone off the bat],” Campbell smiled postgame. “It’s an MLB field, so you never know.”
Douglas and Campbell closed the affair on the mound for the NL. Douglas began the inning with a pair of strikeouts, topping out at 96 mph during his appearance, before Campbell coaxed a groundout to seal the victory (in a non-save situation).
“He deserves a shot,” Jordan said of Douglas.
“I was just hoping BJ [Jordan] would come and get [Douglas] after he threw the first pitch,” Justice laughed.
Junior the photographer
Ken Griffey Jr. -- or “Junior” as he’s affectionately known by many of his MLB brothers -- had the time of his life in the dugout during the showcase. His trademark smile was visible throughout, as it often peeked out from behind his camera. When he wasn’t answering inquiries from MLB Network’s broadcast crew, or giving advisory tidbits to players, he was engaging in a beloved post-retirement pastime: Photography.
Become Legendary
Griffey wasn’t the only legendary name in attendance for the players to learn from. Also making appearances were CC Sabathia, former FAMU player Andre Dawson, Ralph Garr and Rubye Lucas (widow of Bill Lucas, the first African American general manager in MLB history).
The Morehouse Man
Elijah Pinckney had a doubly historic night Friday. Not only was he the first NCAA Division II player to appear in the Classic, he walked away with the T-Mobile Impact Award for on- and off-field leadership.
“I really am grateful for this,” Pinckney said postgame, “because Morehouse has taught me something that I think a lot of people have to internalize. Even though you’re a Black man who’s good at your sport, you can be so much more than just good at your sport. … There’s so many avenues where you can impact communities … that’s what’s really near and dear to my heart.”
Big steppers
Ques. Alphas. AKAs. Outkast. Frankie Beverly & Maze. “Boots on the Ground: Where Them Fans At?” Roy Wood Jr. Big Tigger. Martin Luther King III. This was a Black event, and Black culture was as much a part of the experience as baseball.
The future
In Jordan’s eyes, the only way for this event to go is up:
“The world gets to see [this], and experience it, and I think that’s the most important part, spreading the wealth all around so different areas can see these athletes. … Year after year, I think we’ll start seeing [players drafted from the game] more and more. I think it’s just going to get bigger and bigger, and with Ken Griffey’s support, he’s going to push the needle. There’s no doubt about it.”