For these HBCU Swingman Classic players, big names inspired, influenced their game

The third annual HBCU Swingman Classic, which highlights the plethora of baseball talent at historically Black colleges and universities, takes place Friday to kick off MLB All-Star Week. With Atlanta as this year’s designated host site, these student-athletes will have an opportunity to shine in a city rich in Black culture and history.

Fifty HBCU athletes from across the country will compete at Truist Park, with former Atlanta Braves players Brian Jordan and David Justice serving as managers for this year’s competition.

Here are some of the Black baseball players who have inspired these HBCU athletes.

KJ White, shortstop, Southern University

While junior infielder KJ White is a proud Jaguar, years before he committed to play at Southern in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, his father, Kelcey White Sr., played baseball for rival HBCU Jackson State University. The elder White coached his son throughout high school, and their bond was pivotal to his development.

In college, White Sr.’s best friend was roommates with Rickie Weeks Jr., a Southern baseball legend. When KJ White was around 7, his father introduced him to Weeks, who was selected second overall in the 2003 MLB draft by the Milwaukee Brewers. Weeks, a member of the College Baseball Hall of Fame, was the first and only HBCU player to win USA Baseball’s Golden Spikes Award, which honors the top amateur player in the country.

“Uncle Weeks” is the player who has most inspired his game, the younger White said.

“He didn’t have any excuses. He just had results,” White said. “So for me, it’s just about every time I come to the field and I see his picture, or his Golden Spikes, or whatever he may have won while he was at Southern that always reminds me to be great on purpose.”

Weeks, 42, had a batting average of .246 and hit 161 home runs throughout his 14-year MLB career. He is now the associate manager of the Milwaukee Brewers.

“Growing up, I was a big St. Louis Cardinals fan. So, every time the Cardinals played the Milwaukee Brewers, it seemed like Rickie Weeks was hitting a home run,” White said. “Yeah, that’s when I was like, ‘He might be one of my favorite players.’”

White, who ranked seventh in the Southwestern Athletic Conference in stolen bases (29) last season, was named to the 2025 All-SWAC baseball second team. He will compete in the HBCU Swingman Classic for the second time.

He ultimately wants to play in the MLB, and Weeks has been a constant reminder that it’s possible.

“It took one visit for me going to Southern, and I saw my uncle was on the wall, and I said, ‘I gotta be here. I gotta play here,’” White said. “It was a tradition of winning, and we are looking to bring that back.”

Robert Tate Jr., shortstop, Jackson State University

Growing up, sophomore infielder Robert Tate Jr. wore No. 2, inspired by standout New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter. Tate, who plays the same position, had a .959 fielding percentage this season and will participate in the HBCU Swingman Classic for the second time.

“Derek Jeter won a lot. I feel like most of that is because he was such a competitor on the field,” Tate said. “He figured out ways to win. He figured out ways to get the job done time and time again. … He just played baseball very hard. That’s what I looked up to.”

Jeter, whom the Yankees selected sixth overall in the 1992 MLB draft, spent his entire career with the organization. With five World Series championships and a list of accolades, the Baseball Hall of Famer’s determination influenced Tate.

“I still play the game very hard. I play the small ball, like, I can bunt. … I make a lot of diving plays and things like that,” Tate said. “I kind of try to do whatever it takes to win baseball games.”

Calvin McClendon, left-handed pitcher, Texas Southern University

Graduate student Calvin McClendon names Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd as one of the players who has inspired him. Boyd, who attended Jackson State, was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in 1980. He had a career ERA of 4.04 and recorded 799 strikeouts.

McClendon’s collegiate career has included several stops at different HBCUs – Mississippi Valley State University, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and now Texas Southern. However, it was during a tryout at Jackson State ahead of his sophomore year when Boyd noticed McClendon’s talent.

“[Boyd] was there with his nephew. … He just saw me, like, running, throwing and everything,” McClendon said. “He kind of pulled me to the side and was like, ‘You got something, like, you’re a pretty talented kid.’”

After looking up Boyd’s history, McClendon was awed.

“When I saw his game, it was electrifying. He played with so much passion and brought excitement to the game. He actually made you just want to sit there and watch. … I was like, ‘That’s what I want to do. I want to bring life to the game,’” McClendon said.

McClendon led Texas Southern in strikeouts (48) last season.

Tyler Smith, catcher, North Carolina A&T State University

Though freshman Tyler Smith, a catcher and switch-hitter, will be surrounded by MLB greats this weekend, it won’t be his first time meeting Baseball Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr.

“He’s always there to answer questions because he’s done it for so long and done it for all these different years,” Smith said. “I met him in the summer a couple times in my younger years at these Hank Aaron events [and] MLBDevelops events, so he’s definitely helped a big part in my development.”

Griffey, 55, the first pick in the 1987 MLB draft, had an illustrious 22-year career, posting a .284 batting average with 630 home runs. The left-handed hitter is a 13-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove winner.

“You talk about Ken Griffey Jr [and] it’s like pizzazz on the field, it’s a lot of swag,” said. “It’s a lot of demeanor to be the best.”

Griffey also played an integral role in the creation of the HBCU Swingman Classic. Griffey, the MLB and the MLB Players Association launched the event to give HBCU athletes like Smith the chance to showcase their skills on a national level.

“It’s definitely something to look forward to just given the fact that it’s for the best top prospects. … You know, many people don’t get to do it,” Smith said. “It’s definitely an opportunity, something I want to learn from. You got all this different talent from all over the place, so it’ll be nice to network a little bit, talk to all these different guys, see what their journeys are like.”

Smith, who was invited to USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team Training Camp in June, led the Aggies in batting average (.323) and on-base percentage (.414).

Jamal Ritter, outfielder, Norfolk State University

Graduate student Jamal Ritter, who will compete in the HBCU Swingman Classic for the second time, is inspired by Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen, 38, who was drafted by the Pirates in 2005.

Ritter grew up playing baseball and was often one of the few Black players on his team. McCutchen showed Ritter the opportunities that were possible for athletes who looked like him, he said.

“Once I started playing baseball, that was like when he started getting into the league and starting to make a name for himself,” Ritter said of McCutchen. “That was the first outfielder that was Black that I saw run and do everything on the field. Now, he’s just my guy.”

Ritter, who ranked fourth in the Northeast Conference last season in stolen bases (24) and seventh in slugging percentage (.563), draws inspiration from the energy that McCutchen brings to the sport.

“I just always admired the fact that he was so passionate about the game whenever you delivered the big hit or hit the big home run or made the big play in the field,” Ritter said. “He was always so hype.

“I got chills and goosebumps from watching that, and I always wanted to be like that. I always wanted to make the big play, the big home run, drive in the big run.”