Rain fails to dim HBCU baseball showcase at Dream Fields in Charlotte
Drizzly, overcast weather didn’t dampen Charlotte Knothole Foundation co-founder Morris Madden’s enthusiasm for Wednesday morning’s Diversity in Baseball HBCU Showcase.
“This is one of my favorite events,” Madden said of the sixth annual showcase. “It started because we knew most of the HBCUs didn’t have large recruiting budgets. So we want to give these kids an opportunity to come to one place and let the coaches see a lot of players all at once. It’s really turned into one of our signature events.”
On Wednesday at Richard “Stick” Williams Dream Fields and Education Center, 72 high school players from the Carolinas, Maryland, Georgia, Virginia and Illinois showed their skills to more than 20 area college coaches.
“This is a great event,” said Conrad Felks, Jr., an assistant coach of the Queens University baseball program that calls the facility its home. “We love having this at our complex with the Knothole Foundation. It gives all of these kids a chance to show off their talents to all of these coaches.
“If you think about the recruiting landscape these days, it’s harder than ever for the high school kid to get noticed. Being able to come to something like this give us a chance to see players that we might not see otherwise.”
He wasn’t the only one.
“I love it because it’s a well-run event,” said fourth-year Gaston College assistant coach K.J. McAllister. “Obviously with Gaston being a new program, we look forward to showing our faces and showing the Rhinos’ program off. At the end the of the day, you can be as good as you want as coaches but you’ve got to have talent.
“With us being in the Charlotte market, whenever there’s an event in Charlotte, Gaston College is going to be there.”
A junior at Independence High School, Alexander Kenion was one of manythe large contingent of Charlotte-Mecklenburg players who participated in the camp. Ardrey Kell, Berry Academy, Butler, Julius Chamber, Mallard Creek, North Mecklenburg and Providence also sent players to the showcase.
“This helps young black kids get exposure to go to college and play baseball,” said Kenion, who was attended his second straight HBCU Showcase. “At first I didn’t like baseball. But I hit a home run (in the Mint Hill Little League) and I started getting interested in playing more and more.”
Kenion is an example of what Madden wants to see at the camp.
“We normally have about 60 to 70 kids come to this and we’ll usually have six or seven get recruited out of this,” Madden said. “I’m happy to create those opportunities. I love seeing the coaches out here and interacting with them seeing the all the young players that are trying to get better.”
This story was originally published August 14, 2025 at 6:00 AM.