By David Glenn

The Atlantic Coast Conference and the state of North Carolina both will be well-represented Tuesday (8 p.m., FOX) at the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, including with two players in the starting lineup.Overall, nine 2025 MLB All-Stars have connections to the ACC and/or the Old North State, and six of them will be making their first appearance in the “Mid-Summer Classic,” which is being held at Truist Park in Georgia, the home stadium of the Atlanta Braves.

The starting catcher for the American League is Seattle Mariners star Cal Raleigh (pictured above), who starred at the prep level for Smoky Mountain High School in Sylva, N.C., and in the college ranks for Florida State.

Raleigh went viral Monday night, while he was winning the annual Home Run Derby contest, after a 20-year-old video surfaced of him predicting exactly that accomplishment as a youngster growing up in western North Carolina.

“The video is crazy,” said Raleigh, whose pitcher/catcher combination during the Home Run Derby consisted of his father and younger brother. “I mean, I don’t know where they found that thing in the archives. Yeah, just kind of surreal. You don’t think you’re going to win it. You don’t think you’ll ever get invited. The fact that you win it with your family, super special. Just what a night.”

Raleigh, 28, has smashed 131 home runs and 333 runs batted in during his four-plus seasons at the MLB level, all with the Mariners. His break-through campaign came a year ago, when he finished with 34 homers and 100 RBIs and captured the American League’s Platinum Glove Award, which goes to the AL’s best overall defensive player.

The other 2025 All-Stars with some kind of ACC and/or North Carolina ties are former Virginia pitcher Andrew Abbott, former Stanford pitcher Kris Bubic, former Whiteville High School pitcher MacKenzie Gore, former Maryland infielder Brandon Lowe, former NC State pitcher Carlos Rodon, former Wake Forest pitcher Shane Smith, former Louisville catcher Will Smith (also a starter this year) and former Stanford outfielder Kyle Stowers.

Bubic and Stowers played for the Cardinal before they joined the ACC. Lowe, who starred for the Terrapins before they left the ACC for the Big Ten, will miss this year’s All-Star game because of an oblique injury.

Among this year’s group of ACC and/or North Carolina-affiliated honorees, only Lowe (two), Rodon (three) and Will Smith (three) have made the MLB All-Star Game multiple times. Abbott, Bubic, Gore, Raleigh, Shane Smith and Stowers are making their All-Star debuts.

2025 MLB All-Stars With ACC/NC Connections

P Andrew Abbott, Reds (NL), Virginia
P Kris Bubic, Royals (AL), Stanford (before Cardinal joined ACC)
P MacKenzie Gore, Nationals (NL), Whiteville (N.C.) High School
2B Brandon Lowe, Rays (AL), Maryland (when Terps were in ACC)
C Cal Raleigh, Mariners (AL), Sylva (N.C.) Smoky Mountain HS, Florida State
P Carlos Rodon, Yankees (AL), Holly Springs (N.C.) HS, NC State
P Shane Smith, White Sox (AL), Wake Forest
C Will Smith, Dodgers (NL), Louisville
OF Kyle Stowers, Marlins (NL), Stanford (before Cardinal joined ACC)