here it comes
Strap in, seamheads. An action-packed stretch of star-quality baseball is coming up, and Mississippi connections abound. The rundown:
Friday: The HBCU Swingman Classic at Truist Park in Atlanta features Jackson State’s Robert Tate Jr., Jordan McCladdie, Joseph Eichelberger, Eric Elliott, Nkosi Didder and Erick Gonzalez, Jaylon Burrell of Alcorn State and Kade Wood of Mississippi Valley State. They are among the 50 HBCU players chosen for the third annual all-star game, set for 6 p.m. CDT and televised on MLB Network. Former Alcorn star Corey Wimberly is one of the coaches for the game.
(Also on Friday in Niigata, Japan, are Games 3 (and 4) of the USA vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star Championship Series. Mississippi State’s Ace Reese and Ryan McPherson are on the Team USA roster.)
Saturday: The All-Star Futures Game (3 p.m., MLB Network) at Truist Park. Konnor Griffin (Jackson Prep), Braden Montgomery (Madison Central) and Jurrangelo Cijntje (MSU) are among the highly rated minor league prospects invited to this annual showcase. Former Jackson State star Marvin Freeman is a coach on the AL staff.
Sunday: The MLB draft begins with Rounds 1-3 (5 p.m., MLB Network). Mississippians JoJo Parker, J.B. Middleton and Landon Harmon, all ranked in the top 48 of MLB Pipeline’s latest draft prospect chart, are potential first-round picks. Former Ole Miss players Liam Doyle and Andrew Fischer, who played at Tennessee in 2025, could also be first-rounders.
(Game 5 of the USA-Japan collegiate series will played in Tokyo.)
Monday: The Home Run Derby at Truist Park (7 p.m., ESPN). Ex-MSU slugger Brent Rooker is in the field, along with former Mississippi Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr., who’ll be hitting in his home park in the ATL.
(The MLB draft continues — and if past is prologue, a slew of Mississippi products will be picked on Day 2.)
Tuesday: The 95th All-Star Game at Truist Park (7 p.m., Fox). Rooker and Ocean Springs’ Garrett Crochet are on the American League roster. Acuna and fellow former M-Braves alum Freddie Freeman (Los Angeles Dodgers) were voted in as starters for the National League, and former Biloxi Shuckers Josh Hader (now with Houston) and Freddy Peralta (Milwaukee) and M-Braves alum Max Fried (New York Yankees) will also be there.
Wednesday: The Frontier League All-Star Game at Troy, N.Y. Brian Williams, Victor Diaz and Travis Holt of the independent Mississippi Mud Monsters have been invited.