Two University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff baseball players have been selected to represent the Golden Lions at the third annual HBCU Swingman Classic, Major League Baseball announced Tuesday.
Starting pitcher Kenney Fabian and catcher Vinny Saumell will be among the 50 HBCU student-athletes to compete at Truist Park, home of the Atlanta Braves, on July 11 at 6 p.m. Central on MLB Network.
The Swingman Classic, part of MLB All-Star Week, provides a national showcase for baseball players from Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
UAPB has been represented in each edition of the event. Former outfielder Lawrence “Q” Noble competed in the inaugural event in 2023 in Seattle, while former catcher and infielder Edwin De La Cruz competed last year in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Fabian was named first team All-SWAC this season after posting a 3.48 earned-run average, including a SWAC-leading 1.90 in conference contests.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Saumell missed several games with injury, but his .336 batting average when healthy was second best on the team. Despite the missed time, he caught 13 runners stealing, which was tied for sixth among Southwestern Athletic Conference catchers.
Fabian and Saumell will not be teammates in the greater Atlanta area. Fabian will be one of seven pitchers to represent the National League, while Saumell will be one of three catchers for the American League.
Each team will be managed by a former Atlanta Braves outfielder. Brian Jordan, a 1999 All-Star, will lead the NL team, while three-time all-star and two-time World Series champion David Justice will lead the AL squad.
Out of the 50 participants in this year’s event, 41 hail from SWAC schools. All 12 conference members are represented. The other nine represent the four HBCUs that play baseball as affiliate members of the Northeast Conference. All are primarily members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, which ceased sponsoring baseball in 2022.
Former UAPB pitcher Calvin McClendon, now representing Texas Southern, will be one of Fabian’s NL teammates. Others will include SWAC player of the year Cardell Thibodeaux from Southern, SWAC co-hitter of the year Juan Cruz from Alabama State, four other All-SWAC first teamers and two second teamers with one All-NEC second teamer.
Saumell’s AL teammates will include SWAC pitcher of the year Eric Elliot from Jackson State, co-hitter of the year Andrey Martinez from Bethune-Cookman, relief pitcher of the year Jean Carlos Zambrano from Bethune-Cookman, freshman of the year Garrett Workman from Florida A&M, one other All-SWAC first team selection, a first team All-NEC selection, and five All-SWAC second teamers.
UAPB is coming off its most successful baseball season in years, finishing fourth in the SWAC with a 17-9 SWAC record.
