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OUR STORY
Discover the legacy of academic and athletic excellence.
Our Vision
Our mission is to provide young men of color with the tools they need to succeed both on and off the field.
For over three decades, The HBHA has worked with at-risk youth, helping them gain admission to some of the nation’s top universities.
We’ve built a strong legacy of academic and athletic excellence, and we’re committed to continuing this tradition for years to come.
We take pride in our players who have gone on to become MLB athletes and World Series champions. However, we also understand that education is key to freedom. A young man of color with a quality college education is 95% more likely to earn higher wages, secure stable employment, and own his own business compared to someone without a degree.
We believe poverty and disenfranchisement will only end when we take ownership of the franchise ourselves.
Our goal is to send more young Black, Brown, and disadvantaged men to college than into the criminal justice system.
EDUCATION TODAY, EDUCATION TOMORROW, EDUCATION FOREVER!
Morgan Phillips
2011 MLB DRAFT PICK CINCINNATI REDS
Bachelors Degree
The College of Charleston 2015
How It Began
Founded in 2004, the Harlem Baseball Hitting Academy began with 25 unheralded kids. By 2008, just four years later, they celebrated their first major league draft pick, Jean Carlos Rodriguez, selected in the 10th round by the Philadelphia Phillies.
Since that milestone, HBHA members have achieved remarkable success. They’ve contributed to winning four Division I NCAA National Baseball Championships and earned five Gatorade New York State Player of the Year titles.
Over 50 players have been named Perfect Game and Under Armour All-Americans.
In 2018, HBHA members celebrated a World Series victory, All-Star Game selections, an American League Championship Series MVP title, and Gold Glove Awards.
Additionally, six members have represented Team USA in international play, winning gold medals in Japan, Taipei, and Mexico.
40 MLB draft picks
The 39th pick is Quentin Holmes 2nd round selection Cleveland Indians and the 40th pick of the Academy is
Kai Nelson who was selected by The Washington Nationals
HBHA history is just as impressive as out of 250 players we have sent to college we have had 250 players graduate we have never lost a kid.
We at this moment have Doctors and Lawyers,several MBA candidates,Police officers and future business owners.
We are very proud that our kids have graduated from schools so diverse as Georgetown,John Hopkins ,Bucknell University,Princeton,University of Pennsylvania Morehouse College Savannah State, Virginia State University, University of South Carolina,Stanford University Just to name a few.
Our history is one of athletic excellence as well as academic excellence and both can exist and do exist in the Village of Harlem at the Harlem Baseball Hitting Academ
We built a legacy of academic and athletic excellence
This has led us to have a place in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
HBHA Impact & Achievements
A Legacy of Excellence On and Off the Field
Among its many accomplishments, the academy has helped over 400 players earn baseball scholarships, including seven Division One and Two awards in 2025 alone. Its reach extends to the Caribbean and Japan, with Japanese players traveling to the Harlem-based academy for four weeks of winter training.
Beyond academics, the program boasts more than 60 PSAL championships, over 40 Catholic League titles, more than 25 private school championships, and four NCAA national championships.
Members have achieved honors such as an American League Championship Series MVP, two Major League World Series Gold Gloves, and two MLB All-Star appearances.
Brooklyn native Youman Wilder, a standout at Thomas Jefferson High School where he earned all-city and all-state recognition, holds degrees in Psychology and Criminology, along with master’s degrees in Legal Studies and Law.
I thought I had it all figured out. I thought I knew what hard work meant. Mr. Youman made me work harder than I ever knew I could. Now, I apply that same mindset to everything I do in life.
Victor Rosario
Bachelor of Science 2016
Temple University