Negro Leagues Baseball Museum president Bob Kendrick decided to do something this month that Major League Baseball didn’t do when it wove Negro Leagues statistics into its record book: give Black managers their due.
Kendrick unveiled an exhibit on May 24 at the baseball museum in Kansas City, Missouri, that shined a spotlight on the men who managed in “Black baseball.”
He’s correcting a slight to them and their legacies.
“In the Negro Leagues, we used to run an entire baseball enterprise,” Kendrick said. “You had these brilliant tacticians who just never got an opportunity in the majors.”
The Negro Leagues, professional baseball teams formed for African American players, existed in the 1920s through the 1950s. While the majors integrated the playing field April 15, 1947, the league didn’t put its first Black manager on the field until April 8, 1975. Jackie Robinson integrated the former with the Brooklyn Dodgers; another Robinson — Frank — integrated the latter when he was hired by the Cleveland Indians.
Related StoryFifty years later, Frank Robinson’s managerial debut still matters to those who were thereRead now
“Everybody knew guys like Frank Robinson could play,” said Phil Dixon, an author and respected authority on the history of Black baseball. “They’d been playing successfully for a long time. But could they lead? They managed in the Negro Leagues, but they just couldn’t get that manager’s job in the majors.”
Dixon’s thoughts echoed what Larry Lester, the foremost authority on black baseball, said about the absence of Black managers and administrators from the era before integration.
“Baseball is statistically driven,” Lester said. “When I try to promote their cases, I hear: ‘What was his won/loss record?’ People want to look at numbers, but numbers don’t tell you everything.”
Player/manager Frank Robinson watching the action from the dugout during a mid-1970s game at Cleveland Stadium in Cleveland.
Focus on Sport/Getty Images
Despite Lester’s efforts, managerial minds from the Negro Leagues have been mostly forgotten, their brilliance now hidden in dog-eared newspaper clippings that have turned yellow over the decades, he said. Who knows Rube Foster, Vic Harris, Oscar Charleston, C.I. Taylor or even Buck O’Neil, star of the Ken Burns documentary “Baseball,” were excellent managers?
Charleston is in the Baseball Hall of Fame as a player, and Rube Foster is in Cooperstown as an owner or as the “father of Black baseball” for organizing the Negro National League from 1920-1931.
“The focus has always been on the players,” Kendrick said. “But those managerial minds, those executives in the Negro Leagues, they didn’t get an opportunity to move into Major League Baseball.”
That’s the reason he put together the exhibit, which opened Memorial Day weekend inside the museum’s changing gallery. In it, Kendrick and his staff highlighted the managerial and administrative minds from the Negro Leagues – the masterminds of baseball strategies who were denied opportunities to display these gifts in the majors, not because of their baseball acumen but because of their skin color.
Even after breaking that plate-glass ceiling in 1975, not many Black men have followed in Frank Robinson’s footsteps. Counting Robinson, only 15 Black men have managed in Major League Baseball.
Los Angeles Angels manager Ron Washington watches from the dugout at Dodger Stadium on May 16 in Los Angeles.
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
On Opening Day this season, two Black men managed in the big leagues: Dave Roberts of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Ron Washington of the Los Angeles Angels.
Of the 15 Black managers, three — Roberts, Dusty Baker and Cito Gaston — have won World Series titles. Yet even with successes like theirs, the barriers to entry for others have remained high. Black candidates are often overlooked for even bench coach positions, Dixon said. They have had even less success landing jobs in front offices.
None of that, however, surprised Kendrick. He still remembered what former Dodgers general manager Al Campanis said on ABC’s “Nightline” in April 1987 about Blacks not having the “necessities” to lead.
Kendrick called such thinking nonsense, as the success of Black managers in Black baseball proved. Although their accomplishments in the dugout have been woven into the narrative of the majors, Kendrick used the word “travesty” to point out that no one from Black baseball has been enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame as a manager.
“Buck and Rube went in as contributors,” he said. “They didn’t go in as managers, but both were outstanding managers.”
Related StoryRon Washington is at the center of Black baseballRead now
The exhibit aims to challenge long-held prejudices that have shaped baseball’s hierarchy.
Kendrick referenced the infamous “McPhail memorandum,” a document now in the museum’s collection. It belonged to longtime MLB executive Larry McPhail, who used the same language in the 1940s as Campanis did four decades later in describing why Blacks didn’t make good candidates to manage or run a front office. In McPhail’s world, they weren’t smart enough, yet the reality told a different story, Kendrick said.
More than 40% of Negro Leagues players had some college education, compared to less than 5% of their white contemporaries in the majors, he said. They often went from high school into minor-league farm systems without a stop on a college campus.
“The Negro Leagues didn’t have that kind of farm system,” Kendrick said. “We trained on the campuses of HBCUs, and so we had a disproportionate number of college-educated athletes in comparison to the major leagues.”
But what about today?
There are two Black managers and no Black general managers, numbers that highlight how durable the game’s inglorious past of segregation tends to be.
In an interview with Global Sports Matters, Curtis Granderson, 44, who played 15 seasons in the big leagues, found the lack of hiring Black coaches for those jobs puzzling. He put it best from his front-row seat in the game.
“There are a lot of Black coaches I’ve been around in the game that had coaching experience — had managerial experience[at other levels], not just coaching experience — and aren’t interviewed, aren’t even in the final three, but you just keep scratching your head,” he said.
The hiring — or lack of hiring — of Black managers is a head-scratcher indeed, which is why Kendrick wanted to showcase what men who look like Granderson have done historically when given the chance to manage.
Kendrick’s tribute to them runs through the end of the year. He said he’s considering a touring version or digital exhibition afterward. His ultimate hope, though, is that by illuminating this overlooked aspect of baseball history, the game’s future might finally reflect the full spectrum of its past.
Justice B. Hill grew up and still lives in Cleveland. He practiced journalism for more than 25 years before settling into teaching at Ohio University. He quit May 15, 2019, to write and globetrot. He’s doing both.
On Tuesday, Dec. 23, UC San Diego Athletics announced that USC associate head coach Spencer McLachlin will be the next head coach of Triton women’s volleyball. He replaces Melanie Greene, who stepped down on Dec. 6 after two seasons as head coach.
The coaching change comes after a tumultuous 6-24 season where a promising Triton team never found its rhythm. The Tritons were eliminated from postseason contention with three games left in the season following a loss to UC Riverside on Nov. 17. Assistant coach Kara Barkdoll Coy was named interim head coach for the final six games of the season after Greene’s departure.
“Spencer brings exactly what we need at this moment,” athletic director Andy Fee said in a press release. “He’s helped build winning programs, developed All-Americans, and knows how to compete at the highest level.”
McLachlin played collegiately at Stanford, winning a national championship with the Cardinal in 2010 and ending his four years in Palo Alto ranked third in career kills. McLachlin then served as an assistant coach at Hawai’i, California, UCLA, and Indiana before joining USC as associate head coach in 2023. This past season, the Trojans went 25-7 but fell in the second round of the NCAA Championship in a five-set upset loss against Cal Poly. McLachlin’s new position at UCSD will be his first head coaching role.
“I am thrilled to join UC San Diego as the Head Coach of the women’s volleyball program,” McLachlin said. “This is an incredible opportunity for my family and me to be part of an historic and beautiful university and build a program with great potential.”
DALLAS (SMU)– The SMU Volleyball team announced the signings of outside hitter Suli Davis, libero Victoria Harris, opposite hitter Gabi Placide and setter Ava Sarafa to the 2026 roster on Monday.
Arriving for the spring 2026 semester, Placide brings in three years of collegiate playing experience; Harris and Sarafa come to the Hilltop with two and Davis comes to SMU with one year playing at the college level.
6x Big 12 Rookie of the Week (Sept. 9, Oct. 7, Oct. 21, Nov. 4, Nov. 25, Dec. 2, 2025)
2025 (Freshman at BYU)
–Broke BYU’s all-time freshman kills record during the Cougars’ five-set win over Utah on Nov. 26
–Broke BYU’s rally-scoring era freshman kills record against Arizona on Nov. 19
–27th player in Big 12 history with 500+ kills in a single season
–30 double-digit kill matches, third-most in the rally-scoring era at BYU
–Team-leading 10 double-doubles
–Led the team in kills in 22 matches, including 13 of the Cougars’ final 14
–Played in all 31 of the Cougars’ matches and 119 sets, starting 29 matches
–Recorded 541 kills, third-most in a rally-scoring era season at BYU, 252 digs, 43 total blocks, including 10 solo stuffs, 31 assists and 25 service aces
–Finished No. 1 in total kills (541), kills per set (4.55) and points per set (4.97) in the Cougars’ all-time freshman record book
–Finished No. 1 in sets played (119), total kills (541), kills per set (4.55), total points (591.5) and points per set (4.97) in the freshman rally-scoring era at BYU
–Is also second in double-doubles (10) and third in solo blocks (10) in the Cougars’ freshman rally-era record book
–Career-high 28 kills in back-to-back matches (at Utah on Nov. 14 and vs. Arizona Nov. 19), the second-most kills by a freshman in the rally-scoring era at BYU
Victoria Harris, Jr., 5-4, DS/Libero, Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina
SEC Community Service Team (2025)
SEC All-Freshman Team (2024)
SEC Freshman of the Week (Nov. 18, 2024)
2025 (Sophomore at South Carolina)
-Appeared in all 26 matches for the Gamecocks in her second season with the program
-Finished fourth in the SEC with 4.11 digs per set, totaling 399 digs
-Added 120 assists and 16 aces in her sophomore campaign
-Had seven matches with 20+ digs and 21 matches with double-digit digs
-Logged a season-best 27 digs at Missouri on Oct. 24
-Second in the SEC during conference play, averaging 4.31 digs per set for South Carolina
-Finished with 795 digs, 223 assists and 35 aces as a Gamecock in two seasons
Gabi Placide, Sr., 6-0, Opposite Hitter, Centennial, Colo. – Ole Miss
AVCA South Region Honorable Mention (2025)
SEC Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 22, 2025)
AVCA West Region Honorable Mention (2024)
Big Sky All-Conference First Team (2024)
2x Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week (Oct. 21, Oct. 28, 2024)
Big Sky Conference Fall All-Academic Team (2024)
Big Sky Outstanding Freshman Award (2023)
Big Sky All-Academic Team (2023)
2025 (Junior at Ole Miss)
-Started and played in all 29 matches for the Rebels
-Led the team with 558.5 total points, 5.12 points per set, ranking third in the SEC and 15th in the NCAA
-Registered 488 kills (31st in the NCAA) on a .213 hitting percentage in her lone season with Ole Miss
-Logged 34 aces (sixth in the SEC) to lead Ole Miss and added 182 digs, 1.67 digs per set.
-Had 10 matches with 20+ kills and logged double-digit kills in 25 of 29 matches
-Registered five double-doubles, including a 19-kill and 14-dig outing against LSU on Nov. 2
-Had a career-high 28 kills against Alabama on Oct. 31
-Notched 22 kills, 10 digs and five aces against Texas on Oct. 24
Ava Sarafa, R-Jr., 6-0, Setter, Bloomfield Hills, Mich. – Kentucky
Fall SEC Academic Honor Roll (2024)
First-Year SEC Academic Honor Roll (2023-24)
2025 (Redshirt Sophomore at Kentucky) –Played in 27 matches and 80 sets for a Kentucky program that reached the final four in 2025 –Finished the season with 136 assists, 57 digs and 10 aces –Logged 43 assists, 10 digs and six blocks against Nebraska on Aug. 31
OREM — The first NCAA Division I national championship in Utah Valley University has been vacated.
Multiple reports Monday indicated that former UVU distance star Everlyn Kemboi had her 10,000-meter national title from the 2023 NCAA outdoor track and field championships vacated by the association’s committee on infractions.
The Metkei, Kenya, native who transferred to Utah Valley after starting her career at Arizona and El Paso Community College won the school’s first individual national championship with a time of 32 minutes, 39.08 seconds June 9, 2023 at the University of Texas-Austin’s Mike A. Myers Stadium.
Kemboi’s runner-up finish in the 5,000-meter run has also been removed from the association record books, as first reported by The Stride Report.
The decision first drew attention Dec. 19, when former Utah distance athlete Emily Venters revealed in a statement on Instagram that an appeal she filed with the NCAA asking to move up her 10K runner-up finish in June 2023 due to the disqualification of an athlete had been denied.
Venters, the Utes’ program record-holder in the 10,000 and 5,000 meters in outdoor track and field, finished second to Kemboi in 32 minutes, 47.70 seconds in June of her senior season in 2023. She also finished third in the 5,000 meters in 15:42.40.
Both times were the fastest by a Utah track athlete at an NCAA championship event. But Venters said her and her family were told by NCAA officials that the athlete who finished first in the 10K and second in the 5K — she did not identify Kemboi by name in her statement — had tested positive for a banned substance and had her results revoked.
“Today’s decision from the NCAA is beyond disappointing,” Venters said in a statement posted to Instagram under: “This is something I never wanted to have to post, but staying quiet would mean accepting something that isn’t right.”
“With the support of my dad and Utah’s athletic department, we fought for what we believed was right, to have the results corrected,” she added. “Today, the NCAA denied that request. What hurts most is that I will never get that moment back. I will never get to experience being named a national champion, standing on the top step of that podium, hearing my name called. That moment was taken from me by someone who chose to cheat, and now by a system that refuses to fix it.”
She called the decision “an emotional loss” and one that has “real consequences for my future” including financially for the now-professional runner sponsored by Nike and Xendurance. She also joined Utah-based Run Elite Program last June for training and support.
“But this is bigger than me,” Venters added. “This sets a dangerous standard for the next generation of NCAA athletes. It tells them that cheating can happen, that athletes can test positive, and yet the right thing still will not be done. It sends the message that clean athletes who do things the right way may never be protected or rewarded. That is not the sport we love.
“If the NCAA is willing to let this stand, then it needs to take a hard look int he mirror. Accountability matters. Clean athletes deserve better. I am speaking out because this should not be swept under the rug. This is not just my story. It is about the future of our sport, and unless things change, the message being sent is that cheating is tolerated. That is a standard we should never accept.”
Officials from Utah Valley University have not commented on the situation. But an addition to the school’s press release from June 2023 indicates that Kemboi’s national championship “was later vacated by the committee on infractions.”
A former three-time All-American and five-time Western Athletic Conference champion, Kemboi has since turned pro and appeared in 18 professional track and road races that include top events like the Portland Track Festival and the Fairmouth Road Race, according to The Stride Report.
Utah runner Emily Venters poses for photos at the University of Utah track in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, April 25, 2023. (Photo: Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)
Hawaii setter Tread Rosenthal, who is coming of a All-American season as a sophomore, was one of three Rainbow Warriors picked to the Big West Men’s Volleyball Preseason Coaches Team today.
The defending Big West champion Hawaii men’s volleyball team isn’t the favorite to repeat in the conference this year.
The Rainbow Warriors were slotted No. 2 in the Big West Men’s Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll today as voted on by the league’s six head coaches.
Hawaii earned two of six first-place votes to finish two points behind defending national champion Long Beach State, which topped the poll for the third consecutive season.
UC Irvine was picked to finish third and Cal State Northridge, UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara all tied for the fourth spot with nine points each.
Hawaii was the only school to have three players selected to the Big West Men’s Volleyball Preseason Coaches Team.
Junior setter Tread Rosenthal, who has finished on the All-Big West first team in each of his first two seasons, and was a AVCA first-team, All-American last season, made the team along with sophomores Adrien Roure and Kristian Titriyski.
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Roure, who started 32 matches at outside hitter and hit .327 while averaging 3.10 kills per set as a freshman, was named the Most Outstanding Player in the Big West Championships and also made the AVCA All-America first team.
Titriyski, who started 23 matches at opposite hitter before a suffering a season-ending injury in early April against CSUN, was a AVCA second-team, All-American.
UH opens the season Friday hosting NJIT for the first of two matches at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
14 Total Phoenix Receive Phil Steele All-CAA Postseason Recognition
ELON – Elon redshirt senior punter Jeff Yurk earned First Team All-American honors and was tabbed as the CAA Special Teams Player of the Year by Phil Steele on Monday. Kahmari Brown (Fourth Team All-American) and Landen Clark (Third Team Freshman All-American), headline a deep list of 14 Phoenix who received 2025 Phil Steele All-CAA football postseason accolades.
The 14 Phoenix to receive postseason recognition included three first-team selections, two second-team honorees, seven third-team picks and three fifth-team choices. For the full list of FCS All-Americans and All-CAA selections visit PhilSteele.com.
Jeff Yurk – P First Team All-American, CAA Special Teams Player of the Year
· Ranked second in the FCS and third in all of college football with 48.3 yards per punt
· Tallied 17 punts inside the 20 and 24 punts of 50-plus yards
· Averaged five yards more per punt than any other CAA punter
Kahmari Brown – DL Fourth Team All-American
· First Elon player ever with double-digit sacks in a season (12.0)
· Broke Elon’s single-season FCS sacks record; tied program’s FCS career sacks record (16.5)
· Led the CAA in sacks by 2.5; only CAA player with double-digit sacks
· Ranked top-15 nationally in forced fumbles, sacks, and tackles for loss
· Two-time CAA Defensive Player of the Week selection
Landen Clark – QB Third Team Freshman All-American
· The third Phoenix to earn CAA Rookie of the Year honors, joining Davis Cheek (2017) and Jaylan Thomas (2018)
· First Elon freshman to win three CAA Rookie of the Week awards
· Broke Elon’s single-season FCS rushing touchdown record (11)
· Ranked second among CAA quarterbacks with 614 rushing yards
· Threw for 2,321 yards, ranking sixth in the CAA and second among CAA freshman quarterbacks
· Accounted for 29 total touchdowns (18 passing, 11 rushing), the second most in a season in program history
· Ranked fourth in the CAA in total offense (2,935 yards)
The following players were selected as Phil Steele All-CAA selections:
Isaiah Fuhrmann (WR) – First Team
Kahmari Brown (DL) – First Team
Jeff Yurk (P) – Special Teams Player of the Year, First Team
Dylan Magazu (HB/FB) – Second Team
Ishmel Atkins (DB) – Second Team
Timothy Hogan (OL) – Third Team
Brodie Carroll (LB) – Third Team
Asher Cunningham (LB) – Third Team
DJ James-Hamilton (DB) – Third Team
Tony Hart III (DB) – Third Team
Luke Barnes (PK) – Third Team
TJ Thomas Jr. (AP) – Third Team
Brayden Walker (OL) – Fifth Team
Jake Louro (DL) – Fifth Team
TJ Thomas Jr. (KR) – Fifth Team
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RENO, Nev. – Jason Borchin, who helped lead Cal Poly Women’s Volleyball to back-to-back Big West titles and an NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearance in 2025, has been named the next Nevada Women’s Volleyball head coach, Director of Athletics Stephanie Rempe announced Monday.
Borchin spent 10 years and nine seasons (the 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic) over two separate stints at Cal Poly, serving as assistant coach from 2015-17, then returning to the Mustangs from 2019-25, serving as recruiting coordinator that whole period and adding the associate head coach title in 2025.
During Borchin’s tenure in San Luis Obispo, the Mustangs posted a combined 184-86 record with two Big West regular-season titles, two runners-up, and five third-place finishes in the standings along with three NCAA Tournament appearances (2017, 2019, 2025). The Mustangs picked up at least one win in each of those three postseason appearances, most recently scoring upsets of No. 5 seed BYU and No. 4 seed USC in Los Angeles to reach the Sweet 16 in Lexington, Kentucky.
“We are thrilled to welcome Jason Borchin and his family to the Wolf Pack. He brings a wealth of experience, having cut his teeth at the club level and worked alongside several highly-respected coaches. Growing up and starting his career in our region gives him a deep understanding of the culture and talent here. Known for his elite training in the gym, his ability to build strong rosters, and his extensive recruiting ties in California, Jason is exactly the leader we need to elevate our program and compete at the highest level in the Mountain West,” Rempe said.
Cal Poly finished Big West play with a winning record in each of the nine seasons with Borchin on staff, going 120-38 including a perfect 16-0 mark in 2017. Since the advent of the Big West Women’s Volleyball Championship in 2023, the Mustangs have gone 4-2 at the event and won the title in 2025.
“I am honored to be named the Head Women’s Volleyball Coach at the University of Nevada. I want to thank President Brian Sandoval, Athletic Director Stephanie Rempe and the University administration for their trust in me and belief in my vision for this program,” Borchin said. “This is an incredible opportunity for my family and me, to be part of a University with such a strong tradition and bright future. Nevada has tremendous potential to compete in the Mountain West Conference and I’m excited to get to work building a program our players, alumni, and fans can be proud of. Go Pack!”
Between his stints at Cal Poly, Borchin spent the 2018 season on the staff at Notre Dame. Prior to his first stint with the Mustangs, Borchin began his collegiate coaching career as a volunteer assistant with Sacramento State in 2007 and became a full-time assistant coach in 2010. In 2007, the Hornets went 29-8, capturing the Big Sky tournament title and defeating Minnesota in the NCAA Tournament First Round at Stanford.
In addition to his indoor coaching duties, Borchin also served as co-head coach of the Sacramento State beach volleyball program for its first three seasons (2013-15).
Borchin coached club volleyball in the Sacramento area for 10 years and was the head coach of the Northern California Volleyball Club (NCVC) Girls 18s team that earned a fifth-place finish at the Junior Nationals in Dallas. His club head coaching background began during the 2005-06 season with the High Impact Girls 14s team.
A native of Roseville, Calif. and a graduate of Oakmont High School, Borchin boasts a total of 18 years of coaching experience between the intercollegiate, high school and club levels.
Borchin’s collegiate playing career included two seasons with the Hornets, earning All-Big Sky first-team and team MVP honors in 2006 and was a second-team all-conference selection in 2007. He then transferred to Pacific, where he played in 86 career matches from 2008-10 and was consistently among the team’s top five players in kills, finishing his playing career with 611 kills, 423 digs, 142 blocks and 59 aces.
Borchin graduated from Pacific in 2010 with a degree in sports sciences.
Fifty years later, Frank Robinson’s managerial debut still matters to those who were thereRead now
Ron Washington is at the center of Black baseballRead now
