HBCU Swingman Classic Preview

Sports right now because the Major League Baseball all-star game takes place in Philadelphia next week and you can watch it right here on Fox 5. But as part of the celebration before that game is the HBCU Swingman Classic. That is tomorrow night and one of the players is Lincoln University star and DC native Solomon McKinney who joins us now. Solomon congratulations. Solomon you got us? Can you hear us? You might be muted right now because we're not able to pick you up. There we go. We got you now. Can you hear us? Thank you. Thank you so much. Awesome. Hey listen congratulations. Talk a little bit about this. It is the opportunity to be a part of this whole event that revolves around all-star weekend up in Philly. It's a it's a big event. It means a lot to me and my family and all my coaches and stuff. This is basically all the HBCU players, all the best HBCU players in the country. We get together to play a game and it's gonna be in front of the scouts. It's gonna be at the Philly Stadium. So it's gonna be very big. It's a big event. So okay. I'm very blessed to be in it. And I know that it sounds like I know you're super appreciative and I know it sounds like you're downplaying this because you know you're an athlete and and you get accolades all the time. But playing on a major league field. I mean come on this is like this had to be a dream since you were a kid growing up in Prince George's County. Yes sir. Yes sir it is a dream. It's a dream come true. It's meaning a lot playing on the big stage. So do you look at it you know like like the old movies where they're just like ah the dimensions are the same. Sure the stadium's a little bit bigger. Or do you think you have the opportunity to really soak in the fact that you are now in this this massive professional stadium environment? I think I really just get to soak in everything. That's really like my main goal the whole thing. I really want to take in everything. Like all the knowledge all the things from the pro guys and everything. So I really want to be a sponge kind of and compete compete very good. Yeah talk about that for a minute because each level that you progress in baseball you're around obviously better players. What are you able to pull from them and what do you think you'll take away from this weekend that will help you not just as an athlete but as a person? Um definitely the life lessons that the pro guys are going to give like King Griffey, Ricky Weese. They made it already and and Ricky Weese he made it from HBCU. So I really wanted all the little things that he did extra to to get seen by scouts coming from HBCU and stuff like that. So I want to take in all that stuff. I want to know what's the extra stuff he was doing. What you had to do like behind the scenes behind the stage to get to the next level. And you just mentioned it and I mean Ricky Weese able to come out of HBCU make it to the majors. You're part of the process right now. You're on the path. But talk about what this means not just to your school, other HBCU schools, other young athletes who are growing up who might attend one of those schools in the future. Do you want to just continue to spread that word now as you elevate your career? Yes sir. It means a lot to me because I'm from Washington D. C. Southeast Washington D. C. D. So everything that's going on in D. C. Right now I think this this just brings me like away from it and and makes me still a part of the city at the same time because I really want all the younger kids from the Washington Youth Baseball Academy all the kids from from Southeast to know like this is more to it than just Southeast D. C. Or just war seven or eight D. C. So I want them to get out and and know like baseball is a way to baseball is a way actually to get out D. C. To get away from D. C. And stuff like that. So it keeps me focused and it means a lot to me. It can be focused a lot. And Solomon, I didn't mean to shade the Southeast D. C. In Prince George's County reference because I know you grew up in Southeast, but you went to high school. Uh, yeah, I went to high school in Prince George's County. But talk about that, you know, for the kids who might be growing up in Ward seven or Ward eight right now, being a part of the Nationals Baseball Academy. At what point do you think you gained the most confidence that made you think I can keep playing this game and I can focus on this game maybe more so than something else? Um, I think, I think it was around my eighth grade year when when high school started reaching out to me, I know it was a big, like a lot of big schools in the area started looking out. So, and I'm from Southeast. So, you know, it's not, it's really not like no baseball school is really in Southeast Northeast kind of, they're all uptown. So once those schools started reaching out to me, my mom basically told me, like, I have a chance like these schools looking out for that means something to me. And that meant a lot to me. So I just, I stuck with it. Stay focused with it. Well, listen, I know the Nats Baseball Academy is super proud of you. It's got to be a thrill to have Ken Griffey select you as somebody who gets an opportunity to play in this game tomorrow on the big field up in Philadelphia. And we wish you the best Solomon and hope to hear your name many times in the future. But right now, soak in the moment for the rest of us and let us know what it's like. Okay, thank you. Thank you. Appreciate it. D. C. Native Solomon McKinney. He'll be playing up in Philadelphia tomorrow night in the H. B. C. U. Classic up there. Jacqueline. All right, Steve.