DREAM Series a pipeline for college ball, too
Matthew Ritchie
@mkrwrtTEMPE, Ariz. -- Walking around the complex at Tempe Diablo Stadium for MLB's eighth annual DREAM Series, it¡¯s easy to be drawn into the sounds of baseball permeating the grounds. The pops of catcher¡¯s gloves during bullpen sessions or the shouts when nice plays are made during infield and outfield drills by any of the 80 elite Black and Latino high school prospects -- it all feeds into the atmosphere that makes the immersive development experience a joy to be part of and witness.
What also contributes to the energy is the fact a number of the participants have committed to some of the top college baseball programs. In the tradition of the DREAM Series -- which since 2017 has acted as a pipeline for first-rounders in the MLB Draft (the likes of Chase Davis, Dillon Head and Termarr Johnson) and Major League difference makers (Cincinnati¡¯s Hunter Greene, Atlanta¡¯s Michael Harris II and Tampa Bay¡¯s Taj Bradley) -- the 2025 talent pool is teeming with potential. That fact makes organizers and instructors beam with satisfaction.
¡°These kids are as talented as the other kids going to those schools,¡± said Del Matthews, vice president of baseball development at Major League Baseball. ¡°It¡¯s definitely a sense of pride, whether it¡¯s LSU or University of Texas, UCLA, Stanford -- a lot of really good schools that are out there -- and these kids are capable of competing and playing at that level. And so now, more are getting that opportunity.
¡°We¡¯ve had a bunch of guys this fall commit to LSU. Some are going to Miami. College coaches continue to reach out and ask us about our players, and we¡¯re playing at events and have a chance to compete. ... It has to be a right fit for the player, education-wise and definitely athletically. We definitely notice it, and we celebrate with the players when they have these college commitments.¡±
In the 2025 DREAM Series class, 28 of the 80 participants entered with commitments to Division I programs. Half of the committed prospects are slated to attend SEC schools, including Louisiana State University, the University of Texas and Vanderbilt University. Conferences like the ACC and Big 12 also are represented, with the likes of the University of Miami, Stanford University and Texas Christian University.
The hotbed of talent at the camp just ratchets up the excitement. When big leaguers like Greene, Harris, Bradley and Twins pitcher Simeon Woods Richardson attended on Friday, they crowded around the bullpen sessions and batting practice rounds, impressed by the budding talent before their very eyes.
And that excitement boils over to recruits themselves. For the elite players at the DREAM Series, the prevailing wisdom remains true: Iron sharpens iron.
¡°Out here, it¡¯s pretty hard not to push forward and try to be better than your friend next to you,¡± said Kayson Cunningham, a 2025 Texas commit and the No. 6 prospect for the 2025 MLB Draft, per MLB Pipeline. ¡°It¡¯s all love, but at the same time you¡¯re competing for your spot, so it¡¯s really good. You get to push each other.¡±
Rouselle ¡°Rookie¡± Shepard, a 2026 commit to the University of Miami from North Las Vegas, agreed.
¡°We¡¯re all a bunch of competitive guys, and I don¡¯t think we want to lose at all,¡± Shepard said. ¡°But at the same time, we have fun. It¡¯s fun, and we compete at the same time, and we get after it. We may crack jokes with competitiveness, but we all know at the end of the day, it¡¯s all love and we all want the best for each other.¡±
That sense of healthy rivalry and sincere care compounds each year, as many of these top recruits are regulars at the DREAM Series and other MLB Develops events. It¡¯s what helps turn these relationships from meager friendships to real brotherhoods. When you spend long summers and late winters grinding to reach the next step, year after year, the bonds become unbreakable.
¡°The community has this kind of support; it¡¯s wonderful, it¡¯s amazing,¡± said RJ Cope, a 2026 commit to Vanderbilt. ¡°I¡¯ve known these guys for four to five years, and it¡¯s just a blessing to be able to know these guys for this long and create a relationship with them and play baseball beside them. Everybody wants to see each other get better, and that¡¯s why I love coming out here every year.¡±
The recognition of what they¡¯re working toward is very special. Players like Cunningham, Cope and Shepard are well aware of the statistics on Black participation in the sport of baseball. They use it as motivation. They look at the instructors like Marquis Grissom and Marvin Freeman, who reached the top of the game. They look at All-Stars like Greene and Harris, who are DREAM Series alumni.
These kids want to be the beacons for the next generation of Black baseball players. And they¡¯re ready to work to reach that goal.
¡°It¡¯s a great feeling to know that we¡¯re all growing the game as Black athletes and as young Black men,¡± Shepard said. ¡°I¡¯m definitely an outlet for the younger guys. I want them to reach out, ask questions, anything like that. ¡
¡°[We want them] to definitely not be afraid of the older guys -- try to lift them up, let them know to be their true selves. ¡®You got selected here for a reason. So just come out here and showcase your talent.¡¯¡±