Rickie Weeks on HBCU Swingman Classic, MLB Journey & the Future of HBCU Baseball

No,

Maz, I appreciate you having me, man.

It's just a blessing to be here right now.

Thank you.

And it's pretty cool.

I'm a HBCU alum myself, Morehouse College, Class of 2023.

My dad, he went to Morehouse.

Mom went to Spelman.

So that Spelman connection really runs deep for you.

Why did you choose Southern? Like, what was so special about an HBCU?

Well, not knowing how special it was, I didn't have too many offers coming out of high school.

I had one other offer going to George Washington on basic academic scholarship.

But when they sent me the brochure, it had snow on the front.

So I'm definitely not going anywhere with snow.

I'm a floater boy through and through.

I like sun.

I like the sweat.

I like to be outside in the dirt, not snow.

So that was one little caveat there.

But Having Coach Kedar and Southern come through and show me the love from day one, it made it really easy for me to pick that school to go to.

And how was the initial reaction to being on campus and finally being in a space, I would assume, compared to just real world where you're the majority, not the minority, you know, and they always say like, Oh, do HBCs really prepare their students for the real world? Because, oh, are you going to be the majority the rest of your life? How how is that for you? Was it a bit of a shock? I know for some people, different backgrounds and might not be as much as one.

For me, in my family, I have an HBCU background.

We have a strong following in Florida, FAMU, and Bethune-Cookman from family that plays sports.

I have a lot of family in Daytona.

I was born in Daytona, so I have strong ties there.