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HBCU Swingman Classic offers Grambling State standouts a chance to raise draft stock
Cameron Bufford and Kyle Walker look to show MLB scouts their growth since playing in 2023 inaugural showcase
Grambling State University baseball players Cameron Bufford and Kyle Walker helped lead the Tigers to their first Southwestern Athletic Conference championship since 2010 this season. They also were two of only three players from historically Black colleges and universities invited to attend the MLB draft combine, where the top 300 draft-eligible players compete in front of MLB scouts.
In their final showcase before the 2024 MLB draft, which runs from Sunday through Tuesday, Bufford and Walker will be among 50 Division I HBCU athletes playing in the second annual HBCU Swingman Classic on Friday during MLB All-Star Week in Arlington, Texas.
Walker, second baseman for the Tigers, participated in the inaugural Swingman Classic in 2023.
“It was the ability to play in front of, I want to say, 14,000 fans for the very first time. That was awesome,” Walker told Andscape. “Just being able to meet all the guys, you know, from different HBCUs and hearing their stories and being able to be coached by former big leaguers and Black personnel who’ve made names for themselves in the major leagues … it was awesome.
“This year, I’m expecting the same thing. I’ll be a little bit older and a little bit more mature.”
Third baseman Bufford, who also was on the inaugural roster, is looking forward to showcasing his growth.
“It was fun competing in the Swingman last year. That was another event where I was able to showcase myself in front of scouts,” Bufford told Andscape. “I enjoyed meeting new players and coaches and was able to pick their brains about not only baseball but life. What I am hoping to show scouts this time around is how consistent I [have] been and how much better I got [since] the last time that they seen me.”
Illinois native Bufford, who started playing baseball when he was five years old, was a member of the Jackie Robinson West Little League team that won the U.S. Little League World Series in 2014 before losing the world championship game to South Korea. (The team was later stripped of its U.S. title after it was discovered it had used ineligible players.)
Grambling State baseball coach Davin Pierre remembers watching the predominantly Black Little League team from Chicago. When Pierre saw Bufford at a prospect tournament in Atlanta, the two connected and formed a relationship that brought Bufford from Illinois to Louisiana.
When Bufford arrived at Grambling in 2020, he was 6-feet-3 and 170 pounds. One of his biggest developments as a player was filling out his frame by adding around 25 pounds of muscle.
“It was just the talent, like, man. I knew this young guy was gonna be the king one day. He was one of my favorites, but he worked hard. … He was always on time, always doing the things you need to do, and he was about baseball,” Pierre said. “He worked on his craft to the point where it put him in a good position, and now he has an opportunity to hear his name called in the draft.”
Bufford broke the Grambling State home run record earlier this year. He entered his senior season with 36 career home runs, one run behind Chris Cottonham, who set the record in 2000 with 37. Bufford took the No. 1 spot March 3, hitting his 38th homer during Grambling’s 3-2 victory over Florida A&M University.
“Imagine watching the kid from his freshman year all the way up until his senior year and watching him, you know, just conquer barrier after barrier,” Pierre said. “He’s one of the best players in Grambling State University baseball history to me collegiately.”
Grambling State Athletics
On May 25, Bufford hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning of the SWAC semifinals to help the Tigers defeat defending champion Florida A&M 14-11, and in the conference championship game, he scored the winning run. Bufford was named SWAC tournament MVP honor and earned an All-SWAC baseball First Team spot. He finished the season batting .343 with 10 home runs, 57 RBIs and 52 runs scored.
“My first year at Grambling, my hitting and fielding wasn’t as good as it is now, and while being at Grambling I learned a lot about myself as a player and made the proper adjustments that I needed to elevate my game,” he said.
Though Bufford doesn’t know where he will fall in the 20-round MLB draft, he was grateful for the opportunity to display his skills at the MLB combine in June in Phoenix.
“That was really like a dream come true, because not everyone gets the chance to get invited to showcase yourself in front of every major league organization, and I had fun doing so,” he said.
Over the two years Bufford and Walker have played together, they have built a lasting relationship.
“Just being able to play with Cam for two years, I just know that good or bad, he’s always got my back,” Walker said.
After graduating from Grambling, the two are still supporting each other during the next phase of their baseball careers.
“We’re both praying for each other. We’re just continuously talking about how we’re going to do it and this is what we’ve been dreaming of,” Walker said. “This is the last step of the goal that we need to accomplish before really starting off in our major league careers.”
Walker, a New Orleans native, started playing baseball at 4 years old and was a multisport athlete, playing football and running track and field before settling on baseball.
His collegiate career began in 2021, just 10 minutes up the road from Grambling State at Louisiana Tech. After redshirting his freshman year due to a non-surgical shoulder injury, he followed in the steps of his Louisiana Tech teammate Shemar Page and transferred to Grambling and became a staple for the Tigers’ offense.
“Being injured in the beginning at Louisiana Tech and then coming into a season where you didn’t play as much as you would like to [before] transferring to a school where you didn’t know anybody and you didn’t know you can fit in was hard,” Walker said. “But I did have a lot of help from Shemar, who made that first jump the year before. So he definitely helped me through the process and just getting to know people, building relationships with my coaches before I even got there.”
In his senior season, Walker established himself as a power hitter in the SWAC, finishing in the top five players in the conference in on-base percentage, hits, runs scored and home runs.
“He possesses one trait that I think is probably one of the greatest traits that any kid can have … he is a dog,” Pierre said. “He is a competitor. Fierce. When he’s at the plate, he wants to knock the pitcher’s head off. When he’s on defense he wants to have energy and be out there making plays.”
For Walker, his breakout season for the Tigers was the result of getting fully healthy and doing the little things in the offseason. He batted .381 with 11 home runs, 41 RBIs and 71 runs scored.
“Just really staying in the weight room and you know [and] just kind of tweaking out little things in my swing to make it better and better after every game, every practice,” Walker said. “I kind of caught the barrel a little bit more this year.”
Walker’s work ethic and leadership drew praise from his teammate.
“Playing with Kyle was like playing with my younger brother. … He is one of them ones who really make sure that he is getting better every day at something, and he is not afraid to ask questions either,” Bufford said.
Walker, who played with the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team in June, was the only HBCU player on the International Friendship Series roster for Team USA.
“It kind of brought me out there with a chip on our shoulder,” Walker said. “Seeing guys from all over the place and you know that you’re one of the only few from a smaller school, smaller conference … it was awesome being out there.”
Walker believes he had a good showing at the MLB combine and hopes to showcase more elements of his game at the HBCU Swingman Classic.
“I definitely think I did pretty well. I know there were some elements of [batting practice] that I kind of wish I did a little bit better in showcasing my ability out there,” Walker said. “But I think the physical test, I killed it. I know I had a pretty good 30-yard dash and showed some athleticism with the broad jump and stuff like that.”
Walker has been in contact with former Grambling State coach James Cooper, who is currently the manager of the New York Yankees’ Single-A affiliate Tampa Tarpons and has advised Walker about the draft process.
“[Cooper] said it’s just a lot of waiting around, especially when you’re not sure who’s gonna [pick] you for the draft,” Walker said. “It’s super-important to just be patient and stay prayed up.”
Pierre believes both of his players have earned the opportunity to play pro baseball and have opened doors for future Grambling baseball players in the process.
“These guys deserve an opportunity to go out there and show that they can play with anybody across the country,” Pierre said. “It’s big to see that happen because it don’t happen for a lot of kids at the HBCU level, and it’s a big recruiting tool for us to show kids across the country that, man, if you can play baseball at the next level, you can get those opportunities.
“These guys are setting a path for future kids to show them that magic can happen for you.”
Liner Notes
What: HBCU Swingman Classic When: 8 p.m. ET Friday Where: Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas Information: www.mlb.com/all-star/schedule