Harvey Named Media Relations Director for NC Sports

Gulf Coast College Baseball Combine

NCsports CEO Tanyeka Steele-Cooler, announces award-winning journalist Harold Michael Harvey is named the group’s Media Relations Director.

The Gulf Coast-based sports marketing company will host the first baseball combine for college players, bringing scouts from the Major Leagues, the Minor Leagues, and the Independent Leagues to the Gulf Coast. This event will give college seniors an opportunity to showcase their skills while gaining instructions on jumping to the next level.

Cooler said, “Harvey is the ideal person to direct the media relations for NCsports. His passion for baseball and his interest in giving exposure to HBCU and Division-II baseball players is a good fit with our goal to showcase overlooked college baseball talent,” adding, “Harvey’s history in college baseball dates back to his days as an outfielder at Tuskegee University in the early 1970s,”

Harvey is a contributing writer for Black College Nines, an online magazine covering HBCU baseball, a member of the Pioneer Committee of the National College Baseball Hall of Fame, the College Baseball Writers Association, and the HBCU-PRO Sports Association. Harvey is the author of The Duke of 18th & Vine: Bob Kendricks Pitches Negro Leagues Baseball. His memoir, Freaknik Lawyer, received a bronze medal from the Independent Book Publishers Association in 2020.

According to Nehemiah Cooler, NCsports Operation Officer, “The Gulf Coast Baseball Combine will take place at the historic Jacobs Field on the campus of the University of Mobile. The five-day event begins with a meet and greet, followed by a banquet on June 2. University of Mobile President Lonnie Burnett, a former collegiate baseball player, will deliver the keynote address.”

He said, “Others on the program are former major league Cy Young Award winner, Jake Peavy, Chris Booker, Pitching Coach for the Billings Mustangs, Reginald Williams, Head Baseball Coach at Alcorn State University, and international agent and scout Hector Zepeda.”

The following day, athletes will attend a professional skills clinic that will include classroom instructions on managing personal affairs and fundamental baseball skills. Also, the players are tested in the 40-yard dash, 60-yard dash, hitting, fielding, and bullpen work. On days three and four, participants will play baseball games each day. On Sunday, June 5, the top two teams compete for the Gulf Coast Baseball Championship. The games are open to the public.

“I look forward to joining NCsports in this endeavor,” Harvey said, then added, “back in the early 1970s when my sight was set on a career in baseball, athletes at smaller programs tended to get overlooked. The Gulf Coast Baseball Combine will give the cream of college baseball a last chance to rise to the top, and I am pleased to assist these competitive young men in reaching their full potential in baseball.”

For information about the 2022 Gulf-Coast Baseball Combine, contact Harold Michael Harvey at [email protected].