How talent out of a program the White Sox started in Chicago led this High-A club

Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This article -- which he reported on from Winston-Salem, N.C., on July 31 -- is one of those stories. Subscribe to *his newsletter here.*

In 2007 the Chicago White Sox established the Amateur City Elite (ACE) program, with the intent to “reverse the declining interest and participation in baseball among African American youth.” Since then, over 300 participants have earned college scholarships and more than 30 have been drafted by an MLB organization.

During the 2024 season two of those individuals -- DJ Gladney and Darius Day -- could be found wearing the purple and white uniforms of the Winston-Salem Dash, the High-A affiliate of the White Sox. Gladney and Day are at different places in their career journeys (the former is a player and the latter a coach), but the similarities between them are profound. Both grew up on the South Side of Chicago, developed as players within the ACE program and are now members of the White Sox organization.

Day made his professional coaching debut in 2024, serving as Winston-Salem’s bench coach. Gladney, an outfielder/first baseman, spent most of the season in Winston-Salem before receiving a promotion to Double-A Birmingham (he then went on to the Arizona Fall League, playing for the Glendale Desert Dogs). Prior to a game in Winston-Salem at the end of July, Day and Gladney convened in the Dash dugout to speak about their similar backgrounds and the importance of the ACE program.

Gladney and Day both joined the ACE program at the start of their teenage years and continued with it through high school.

“For me, it was getting to experience these different types of [baseball] tournaments around the country,” said Gladney. “I didn’t really get to travel a lot as a kid and then one day, just waking up, I’m in Georgia. The next time I’m in Cali, playing against different types of players.”

“Just being around guys that, number one, looked like me and had a passion for the game,” added Day. “That drove home what it took to get the best out of yourself and get the best out of the game and what the game could do for you. Not only on the field, but also off it. … There’s a lot of father-figure type guys that’s involved with the program, guys that just care and want the best.”

Gladney was selected by the White Sox in the 16th round of the 2019 Draft, making him an employee of the team he grew up rooting for.

“Going to Guaranteed Rate [Field] every Saturday, watching the White Sox, saying, ‘Hey, Dad, I want to play in this stadium,’” he said. “And then from that, playing the Double Duty Classic [showcase game for city youth] in the stadium. And then getting that phone call. Dream come true. Hard to believe some days.”

Gladney was drafted just after he turned 18. Despite his young age, the transition to the professional ranks was a smooth one.

“[ACE] introduced me to different kinds of people,” he said. “I had never heard of an area scout or a cross-checker. Getting drafted, it was straight from ACE, so it was a lot of familiar faces for me. It made me feel comfortable, just being around what I grew up with. I just appreciated that.”

Day was drafted by the Rangers in 2014 and went on to play five seasons professionally. He then became the type of “father figure” that was so beneficial to his own development.

“After my years playing I got a phone call about the field coordinator position for the [ACE] program. At that point in time we had about 10 teams, 180 kids, so they were looking for somebody that could come in and drive home more structural baseball stuff," he said. "So I was in the [White Sox] front office, community relations department, for five seasons.”

For both Gladney and Day, their presence in the Winston-Salem dugout was proof that the program works. This sentiment was compounded by the fact that one of the opposing players that evening, Greensboro’s JP Massey, was another ACE alumnus.

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“Baseball is a driving force, but one of the biggest things that we try to get kids to understand is that you use baseball to get what you want,” said Day.

“You use baseball to get to college. You may not get drafted like DJ and I did, but you get a degree. We have guys that graduated from some prestigious universities, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, Duke. Baseball got you there, but if you’re able to get that degree from a place like that, you’re in a good position for the rest of your life.”