WEEKS TO MANAGE IN SWINGMAN CLASSIC:
Southern baseball legend Rickie Weeks and 2007 NL MVP Jimmy Rollins have been named managers for the 2026 HBCU Swingman Classic when 50 current black college baseball take the field at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on July 10.
Founded by Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. in 2023, the HBCU Swingman Classic will open MLB All-Star Week in Philadelphia highlighting players from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) while celebrating HBCU culture through pregame festivities and events.
Weeks’ connection to the classic is personal owing to his starring days at Southern and his 14-year Major League career with Milwaukee, Seattle, Arizona and Tampa Bay.
Weeks starred at Southern where set college baseball records, winning the Golden Spikes Award and Dick Howser Trophy in 2003. The Brewers drafted him with the second pick in that summer’s draft. In 2010 he batted .269 with 20 homers and 89 RBI and earned an All-Star selection with Milwaukee in 2011. Weeks serves as a special assistant in baseball operations and domestic/international scouting for the Brewers.
The opportunity to manage in the HBCU Swingman Classic brought him back to where his dreams started to take shape.
“Just coming back and getting a chance to manage a team that gave me the chance to play college baseball,” Weeks said. “What more can you ask than that?”
Years ago, Weeks would have dreamed of an opportunity like this while attending Southern. He also thought about what it could mean for teammates who deserved more opportunities.
“I’d have welcomed that with open arms,” Weeks said. “I’ve always said when you go off the Minor League baseball and start playing and seeing the guys around you and knowing that guys who you [used to] play with should have been there.”
