Academy Notebook: HBCU Baseball at the Texas Rangers Youth Academy; Rangers Youth Academy shortstop named to top 20 watchlist; C5 Texas Design for Delight Program; 12U New Orleans Mardi Gras Classic recap

Alabama A&M University, Wiley College to play doubleheader at Texas Rangers Youth Academy

Tomorrow, Saturday, March 4, the Texas Rangers Youth Academy will host Alabama A&M University and Wiley College as they play a doubleheader following a neutral-site location change due to wet field conditions.

The Wiley College Wildcats will host the Alabama A&M Bulldogs in the first college baseball game at the Rangers Youth Academy to feature two Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The teams will face off on Johnny Oates Field, with the first game beginning at noon.

Alabama A&M, one of eight participants in MLB’s Andre Dawson Classic last weekend, is 5-4 through their first nine games of the season and Wiley College is sitting at a 6-9 record.

Several former Texas Rangers Youth Academy athletes will make their return to West Dallas as part of the Wiley College roster, including Daniel Cox, Roberto Villanueva and Khris Valdez.

Both games are open to the public and admission is free.

Austin Phillips named to Top 20 high School shortstops watchlist

Texas Rangers Youth Academy athlete and South Grand Prairie High School junior Austin Phillips was named one of SBLive Sports’ Top 20 High School Shortstops for the 2023 season.

Part of the Sports Illustrated Media Group, SBLive Sports, formerly Scorebook Live, partners with state high school associations, athletic directors, coaches and content partners to deliver news to high school and youth sports fans across the U.S.

Phillips, one of two Texas-based shortstops among SBLive’s Top 20, was credited for batting .400 with 10 doubles, four home runs and 21 RBI during his sophomore season. Phillips also showed his speed on the basepaths, racking up 15 stolen bases and 43 runs scored in his 33 games played for the South Grand Prairie Warriors last season.

The Oklahoma University commit is batting .308, with five stolen bases and a .933 fielding percentage through his first five games of the 2023 high school season.

C5 Texas Design for Delight Program

On Saturday, March 4, local nonprofit organization C5 Texas will host its Design for Delight program at the Texas Rangers Youth Academy from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

C5 Texas, a Rangers Foundation 50th Anniversary Legacy Grant winner, is dedicated to changing the odds for high-potential youth by inspiring them to pursue personal success and preparing them for leadership roles through an intensive five-year program.

As part of their partnership with Texas Rangers, C5 Texas will bring together its students and Texas Rangers Youth Academy athletes to partake in this interactive entrepreneurial session to help high school juniors and seniors identify the creativity that lies within to solve business and community issues.

During the first half of the session, participants will decipher the results of their pre-course personality assessments that will bring self-awareness to three categories: relationship-building, decision-making and problem-solving.

This assessment gives students a view of their behavioral preferences, ultimately helping them become more self-aware so they may present themselves at a deeper level when writing college essays or during interviews.

In part two of the session, students will work together using entrepreneurial skills to pitch actionable ideas on Saturday’s community issue topic, “quality food during the school day.”

Following the conclusion of the course, students will leave with an understanding of how their personalities drive their reactions to situations, what changes they can make to better handle stress and how to creatively solve community issues that impact their daily lives.

Texas Rangers Youth Academy falls short of 12U New Orleans Mardi Gras Classic Championship

Last weekend, 15 Texas Rangers Youth Academy athletes traveled to New Orleans to participate in the 12U Mardi Gras Classic, an ancillary event to Major League Baseball’s Andre Dawson Classic.

The Rangers Youth Academy opened pool play with a pair of games on Friday, Feb. 24, falling, 6-4, to the Chicago White Sox ACE Black while beating divisional rival the Houston Astros Youth Academy, 11-5, in game two to advance to Saturday’s semifinal.

The semifinal saw a rematch between the #2 seed Rangers and #1 seed Chicago ACE Black to determine who would face East pool winners, the New Orleans Youth Academy, in Sunday’s Mardi Gras Classic championship game.

In a back-and-forth battle, the 12U Rangers again fell to the Chicago ACE Black 11-10 after a walk-off single ended their hopes for a championship bid.

Top performers for the Rangers in Saturday’s semifinal included Michael Stevenson, who was 3-4 with a home run, double, and stolen base, and starting pitcher Aaliyah Marquez who notched three strikeouts while going 1-2 at the plate with one RBI, two walks, and a stolen base.

Other notable performances included Cameron Hardaway, who finished 1-2 with a walk, run scored, and RBI, and Cruz Calderon, who went 1-2 with a double, walk, and RBI.

The Chicago White Sox ACE Black went on to beat the New Orleans Youth Academy 16-2, becoming the 2023 12U Mardi Gras Classic Champions.