About the Andre Dawson Classic

Feb. 21-23, 2025; Jackie Robinson Training Complex, Vero Beach, Fla.

The Andre Dawson Classic is the annual, round-robin collegiate baseball tournament designed by Major League Baseball to highlight Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and their baseball programs.

Recognized by the Higher Education Act of 1965, HBCUs have offered quality educational and athletic programs for African American youth for more than a century. HBCUs have a proud baseball tradition, and have produced Hall of Famers such as Lou Brock (Southern University) and Andre Dawson (Florida A&M University).

This event (originally known as the Urban Invitational) was first launched in 2008 at the MLB Youth Academy in Compton, Calif., and was hosted there until 2012 when the tournament relocated to Houston. The Houston Astros hosted the event at Minute Maid Park in 2012 and 2013. In 2014 and 2015 the tournament relocated to New Orleans, and those two years included participation by NCAA Division I programs LSU and the University of New Orleans. This year's tournament will take place at the historic Jackie Robinson Training Complex in Vero Beach, Fla.

The 2025 tournament will feature seven HBCUs: Alabama State University (Montgomery, Ala.), Alabama A&M University (Huntsville, Ala.), Florida A&M University (Tallahassee, Fla.), Grambling State University (Grambling, La.) Jackson State University (Jackson, Miss.), Prairie View A&M University (Prairie View, Texas) and Southern University (Baton Rouge, La.). They will be joined by the University of Missouri (Columbia, Mo.).

Each year, the tournament features dozens of Nike RBI and MLB Youth Academy alumni on the HBCU rosters.

News


Past Participants

2021 ADC Athletes From MLBDevelops Programming

Alcorn State: N/A

Alabama A&M: N/A

Alabama State:

● Jeremy (J.C.) Clark - 2018 BTS, 2016 & 2017 EDI/HAI,

● Fred Stewart - 2017 BTS, 2016 EDI/HAI,

● Isaias Hernandez - 2018 BTS

Bethune Cookman:

● Eli Young - 2018 EDI

● Irvin Escobar - 2019 BTS, 2019 HAI/Member of the 44, 2019 BTS Tournament Team

Grambling State:

● Cameron Bufford

● Kevin Breaux - 2018 BTS, 2019 DS, New Orleans Youth Academy Alum

● Michaell Mims III - 2016 EDI/HAI New Orleans Youth Academy Alum

● Brandon Tyler - 2018 DS

● Matthew Boult - 2019 BTS, 2019 DS, Houston Youth Academy Alum

● Micheal Granson - 2018 BTS, 2015 EDI/HAI,

● David Valoy Jr. - 2019 BTS, 2019 DS

● Tre Willams - New Orleans Academy Alum

Jackson State:

● Hasan Standifer - 2018 BTS, 2019 DS, Compton Academy Alum

Prairie View A&M:

● Caleb Hines - 2018 BTS, 2018 DS, 2018 EDI/HAI

● Lorenzo Hardit - 2015 EDI/HAI

● Tyrone Tubbs - 2015 EDI/HAI, New Orleans Academy Alum

● Calvin Rucker - 2016 BTS

● Clayton Brody - 2018 BTS, 2018 DS, 2018 EDI

● Tre Turner - 2014 BTS, New Orleans Academy Alum

UNO:

● Cristian Poche - 2017 BTS, 2015 - 2017 EDI/HAI, 2017 DS, Academy Barons Participant, 2016 & 2017 BTS Tournament Team, New Orleans Academy Alum

● Brandon Mitchell - 2016 & 2017 EDI/HAI, 2017 & 2018 DS, Academy Barons Participant, 2016 & 2017 BTS Tournament Team, Houston Youth Academy Alum

● Max Dias - 2018 BTS, 2018 SP, Academy Barons Participant, Houston Youth Academy Alum

Arkansas Pine Bluff:

● Mikyren Bentley - New Orleans Academy Alu