HBCU Players On Major League Baseball Draft League Rosters…
The baseball voyage continues for former HBCU Baseball players who aim to play professionally in the Major League MLB Draft League and have exhausted their amateur eligibility with dreams of playing professionally.
The Draft League is a pipeline for collegiate players to continue playing and hopefully playing on an MLB roster.
The following HBCU Baseball undrafted free agents who have signed MLB Draft League and Independent League signings.
Frederick Keys
Harold Baez/Bethune-Cookman – Right-Handed Pitcher
Derrick Mayes/University of Maryland-Eastern Shore – Outfielder
Mahoning Valley Scrappers
Jerry Burkett/Southern University – Left-handed Pitcher
Dreylin Holmes/Mississippi Valley State – Outfielder
State College Spikes
Cameron Bufford/Grambling State – Infielder
Phillip Bryant/Grambling State – Right-Handed Pitcher
Manny Jackson/Norfolk State – Catcher
West Virginia Black Bears
Brody Black/Coppin State – Outfielder
The MLB Draft League is a six-team baseball league featuring a split-season amateur-professional format. The first half of the MLB Draft League season features Draft-eligible players aiming to improve their stock ahead of the annual MLB Draft in July. The League switches to a professional format in the second half, with paid players comprising the six rosters.
First Half (June 4-July 13, 2024): Amateur/Draft-eligible players from the Divisions I-III, NAIA, Junior College, and High School levels. 35 games per team.
Second Half (July 18-Sept. 4, 2024): Professional players who have exhausted their amateur eligibility. Players receive housing, meal money, travel, and weekly compensation. 45 games per team, with a Championship Game on Thursday, Sept. 5.
Since its inauguration in 2021, the MLB Draft League has produced 133 MLB Draft picks and had more than 70 undrafted free agents sign with a Major League organization. The 2022 and 2023 MLB Draft League seasons had their contracts purchased by a Major League organization.
The six MLB Draft League teams – the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, the State College Spikes, the West Virginia Black Bears, the Williamsport Crosscutters, the Trenton Thunder, and the Frederick Keys, are former Minor League affiliates based in New Jersey, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. All games are played in former Minor League stadiums.
Players are provided housing and pre-game and post-game meals by their MLB Draft League team. All teams in the league provide housing to players during their time as Draft league teams.
The managers and coaches are former Major League players, coaches, and instructors who will help prepare the players for careers as professional athletes. Managers from the League’s first two seasons include big names like Coco Crisp, Jedd Gyorko, Jeff Manto, Dave Trembly, Homer Bush, Jesse Litsch, and Joe Oliver.