Majestic Park to host wealth of DI talent, MLB scouts

Majestic Park will host the Southwest Sporting Goods Classic on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“We’re going to have two game days,” said Derek Phillips, Majestic Park’s general manager. “It’s a tournament that began in Arkadelphia in 2016, where SW Sporting Goods worked with the local park authority to invite teams to come and compete in an annual high school tournament that were customers of SW Sporting Goods .”

The SW Sporting Goods Classic is a resurrected tournament with an interesting concept developed by Director Neil Groat. The tournament features high school teams across the state of Arkansas, each rostered with Division I caliber players.

“I came up with the idea of ​​hosting a tournament to help professional Boy Scouts get all the teams in one place with the guys they have to mentor,” Groat said. “I pitched the idea to some pro scouts I knew and they said, ‘Yeah, absolutely, that would be very helpful for us.’ So, with the support of SW Sporting Goods, we brought back the tournament and the name and put it together in its new form for the first time in Spring 2020.”

There is no trophy in this tournament. However, at last year’s SW Sporting Goods Classic, 25 of the 30 Major League Baseball teams’ scouts were in the stands.

“Part of the inspiration for the tournament is if we can help scouts and get all these guys in one place,” Groat said. “If it’s a child, they have to see it once, if they can. If it’s a high-level prospect, they can bring in their boss and maybe a scouting director. They can take out the entire state as far as preseason players are considered a two-day period.”

Last season, the tournament was held on the University of Arkansas campuses in Little Rock and Central Arkansas.

Majestic Park was chosen to host the tournament and hope to continue to do so for years to come.

“I think it’s really cool,” Phillips said. “Groat has a really great schedule for the future. I look forward to having him. Now he’s back in a slightly different form and here in Majestic Park. We have a flagship high school tournament. There will be a portion of it here every year. It can get bigger or smaller from year to year. We want it here for years to come and we’re going to host this tournament.”

Groat said he’s already speaking to teams for the 2024 and 2025 tournaments, knowing Majestic Park is now part of the rotation.

“They’re really excited about it,” Groat said. “You were either at the state tournament last year, saw or heard how beautiful it is. It’s great that people are enthusiastic about it.”

A game will be played Monday at UCA’s campus between Jonesboro and Little Rock Christian due to distances.

Little Rock Christian senior catcher Charlie Carter is committed to Oklahoma State, and Jonesboro has a junior pitcher in Lance Davis, who is committed to the University of Arkansas.

Majestic Park games are played at Babe Ruth Field.

On Tuesday, Harding Academy will play a double header against Greene County Tech in the first game at 3:30 p.m. and Little Rock Christian in the second game.

Harding Academy senior Kade Smith is an infielder committed to the University of Arkansas.

Greene County Tech has senior Hutson Guinn at the shortstop, and he’s committed to Louisiana Tech.

On Wednesday, Rose Bud plays Texarkana at 3:30 p.m. and Conway takes on Camden Fairview for the later game. The second game starts every day 30 minutes after the end of the first game with an estimated start time of 18:00

Conway senior Hugh Hill is a left-handed pitcher and committed to playing for the University of Richmond.

Texarkana catcher Ty Waid gets involved at the University of Arkansas.

Rose Bud’s second pitcher Russ Martin is also involved with the University of Arkansas.

“The Class of 2025 in Arkansas State is very talented,” said Groat. “There are six kids who are in the top 200 nationally and are playing for Arkansas high schools.”

The future of the University of Arkansas is on display, featuring five committed stakeholders. Rounding out the future Razorbacks is the verbal commitment from Camden Fairview senior Martavius ​​Thomas.

Teams listed for multiple games, like Harding Academy and Little Rock Christian, have skill position players with DI offerings to give them multiple shots.

The teams designated for one game only are the schools that have pitchers who have signed DI commitments so the guns are not overused.

“There are no pro scouts in the state of Arkansas,” Groat said. “Most of them live in Kansas City, Dallas or Oklahoma but have Arkansas as part of their territory; 90% of your work is probably at the University of Arkansas. They happen to have to see these high school kids all over the state. That was part of the inspiration for the tournament.”

Majestic Park was chosen by Groat for its grass pitches and new facilities.

“Without a home team, we are at the mercy of finding a facility,” Groat said. “I like the idea of ​​it being played on grass because if we were concerned about the weather we wouldn’t have a home team to put up a tarpaulin. Majestic was great with turf, new facilities and the willingness of their staff to accommodate our needs. The teams are excited to be joining Majestic as well.”

The high-profile competition, which arrives at Majestic Park Tuesday and Wednesday, adds to Hot Springs’ booming baseball tradition.