With the MLB All-Star Week coming to Philadelphia next month, a pair of HBCU standouts will have a chance to showcase their talents on a national stage.<\/p>\n
Philadelphia native and Delaware State University sophomore Santino Harwood, along with Lincoln University pitcher Solomon McKinney, have been named to the 2026 HBCU Swingman Classic rosters<\/a>, the MLB announced Thursday.<\/p>\n The Swingman Classic is part of MLB All-Star Week festivities and features some of the top baseball players from Historically Black Colleges and Universities across the country. This year’s game is scheduled for July 10 in Philly, which coincides with the nation’s ongoing 250th anniversary celebrations.<\/a><\/p>\n Harwood, a graduate of Roman Catholic High School in Philadelphia, batted .296 this season for DSU and finished second on the team in batting average.<\/p>\n McKinney, a sophomore at Lincoln, is one of several players in the game who came through Nike’s Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) program. He also becomes the first player from the nation’s first degree-granting HBCU to be selected for the Swingman Classic.<\/p>\n Fifty HBCU players from across the country were selected by a committee that includes the event’s founder, Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. The Classic was created to provide national exposure for underrepresented college baseball players in front of MLB scouts and executives.<\/p>\n The players are divided into American League and National League rosters. Phillies legend Jimmy Rollins<\/a> will manage the National League team and former MLB veteran Rickie Weeks will lead the American League team.<\/p>\n McKinney was named to the National League roster, while Harwood will play for the American League team.<\/p>\n