2023 Andre Dawson Classic on MLB Network

The 2023 Andre Dawson Classic -- an annual MLB-hosted baseball showcase featuring historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) -- is under way in New Orleans.

Launched in 2008, the 15th edition of the round-robin tournament will feature seven HBCUs, including one making its first appearance at the event. The action started Friday with two games on MLB Network, MLB.com and the MLB App.

Alabama A&M opened play Friday by defeating Prairie View A&M, 13-1. Dawson's alma mater, Florida A&M, defeated Southern 12-6 in the afternoon. Jackson State shut out New Orleans -- a co-host of the tournament and the only non-HBCU school competing -- 3-0. In the nightcap, Alabama State scored six runs in the 10th for a 10-4 victory over Grambling State.

"We're honored to be in the tournament, especially because of the namesake of the tournament," said Florida A&M head coach Jamey Shouppe. "Andre's not only, obviously, a legendary baseball figure and a Hall of Famer, but a guy that walked the same campus that our players currently walk and practiced on some of the same fields that our guys practice on."

• 7 HBCU teams ready for 'Andre Dawson Classic' in New Orleans

Dawson, who starred for the Rattlers from 1972-75, wasn't selected until the Expos called his name in the 11th round of the 1975 MLB Draft. He wasted no time making a name for himself at the next level, however, winning the 1977 NL Rookie of the Year Award. He went on to win the 1987 NL MVP Award with the Cubs, the '87 Home Run Derby, eight Gold Glove Awards and four Silver Sluggers, all while making eight All-Star appearances during his 21-year Hall of Fame career.

Dawson is one of just three HBCU alumni -- along with Lou Brock and Larry Doby -- in the Hall of Fame.

This yearly event, originally called the Urban Invitational, was renamed for Dawson beginning in 2018. Regardless of the name, one school that has been there for all 15 tournaments is Southern University.

"It's a rich tradition of playing in it," said Southern head coach Chris Crenshaw.

At the other end of the spectrum is Alabama A&M, led by head coach Elliott Jones. While the school will be making its first appearance at the Andre Dawson Classic, Jones himself has plenty of experience with the event.

A former player and assistant coach at Southern, Jones previously participated in a handful of these tournaments. That includes the 2012 version, when he took the field at Houston's Minute Maid Park as part of the three-day showcase.

"That was such a great opportunity. At an historically black college, not many guys get a chance to play in a Major League ballpark, and we were one of the programs that had that opportunity to play at Minute Maid," said Jones, whose Alabama A&M club wraps up with a Sunday showdown against Southern. "It's going to be exciting. Coach Crenshaw has done a really great job at Southern, with the winning tradition there, so it's going to be an exciting Sunday matchup that I'm looking forward to."

Every club participating in this year's Andre Dawson Classic features alumni of either MLB Development Initiatives or Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) programs.

In total, there are 42 players who have participated in MLB Development Initiatives, such as the Dream Series, Breakthrough Series and the Hank Aaron Invitational. That's a 121% increase from 2022. The '23 version also includes 44 alumni from RBI programs (a 47% increase from 2022) and 19 alumni of MLB Youth Academies.

"It's important for the kids who come through our development programs and come through the RBI programs or Breakthrough Series or Hank Aaron Invitational, to get an opportunity to end up going to these schools and furthering their education and also having a chance to play baseball," said Del Matthews, MLB's vice president of baseball development. "The environment at the HBCUs and the cultures there, specifically for baseball, is like no other.”

The annual showcase is not only a great opportunity for the current student-athletes, but it has also provided the schools with a major boost when it comes to recruiting high school ballplayers.

"I think the climate we live in now, for the kids, it's huge any time you get a chance to play on MLB Network or any time you get a chance to play on TV period," said Davin Pierre, who has served as Grambling State's recruiting coordinator since 2012 and is in his second year as the program's head coach. "It allows the kids to know this is a place where they can be seen. Playing in this tournament, there will be a lot of scouts there -- so our kids will actually get an opportunity to be seen by scouts. So it's big for recruiting."

As important as it is to perform well on the field this weekend, the coaches also stressed the importance of the athletes taking pride not only to play on a national stage, but also in the opportunity to represent Dawson.

"He was not only a legendary baseball player, but an awesome man," Shouppe said. "That's something we try to instill in our players: A legacy of playing in a tournament like this, it's important not only how you play, but how you handle yourself in the process of playing, which is something Andre did throughout his career."