By David Glenn
North Carolina Sports Network
(last updated July 13, 2026)

Both the Atlantic Coast Conference and the state of North Carolina were well-represented during the voting-and-selection process leading up to this week’s Major League Baseball All-Star Game, although injuries will sideline a couple of the highest-profile honorees.

The original rosters for the Mid-Summer Classic, scheduled for Tuesday (8 p.m., FOX/FOX Deportes) at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, included recent Wake Forest teammates Chase Burns and Nick Kurtz, but both highly touted second-year professionals will miss the game with relatively minor ailments.

Meanwhile, former Virginia star Ernie Clement, now with the Toronto Blue Jays, will start at second base for the American League. Cleveland Guardians left-hander Parker Messick (Florida State) and Oakland A’s right-hander Mason Miller (Gardner-Webb) will be available pitchers in the AL bullpen. Los Angeles Dodgers lefty Justin Wrobleski, who played one season at Clemson, will be available as a relief pitcher for the National League.

In most years, MLB produces the most-watched all-star game in American sports.

The All-Star Game’s average viewership has ranged from 7-10 million over the past decade; those numbers represented audiences significantly larger than those attracted by, for example, every regular-season college basketball game (rarely above 5 million) and all but a few contests in hockey’s Stanley Cup championship series (rarely above 6 million) during the same 10-year period.

Recent MLB All-Stars such as Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Zac Gallen (UNC), Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Jeff Hoffman (East Carolina), former New York Yankees pitcher Marcus Stroman (Duke) and Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner (NC State) didn’t receive an invitation to this year’s MLB celebration.

Burns (23), Clement (30), Kurtz (23), Messick (25) and Wrobleski (25) are all first-time MLB All-Stars. Miller (27), whose only season at Gardner-Webb came as a fifth-year graduate student in 2020-21, previously earned the MLB All-Star honor in 2024.

In one of the most remarkable stories of this year’s All-Star selection process, Clement — who didn’t break into the major leagues until he was 25 years old and didn’t become a regular starter until 28 — led all American League players with 3,232,932 votes in MLB’s Phase One voting.

For perspective, consider that Japanese/Dodgers sensation Shohei Ohtani, one of baseball’s biggest names for the past decade, received the most Phase One votes in the National League.

Under MLB’s current voting rules, the leading Phase One vote-getter in each league gets to skip Phase Two voting entirely and automatically becomes an All-Star Game starter. Knowing this, Toronto fans, UVa fans and likely others who were aware of Clement’s unusual story stuffed the (electronic) ballot box in favor of the Blue Jays’ journeyman, who is having the best season of his big-league career.

“It’s a really cool honor,” Clement said. “I feel the love from Canada and all the Blue Jays fans. It means a lot.”

Clement, who initially became famous at the pro level during last year’s playoffs, when he set the all-time record for hits (30) in a single postseason as Toronto reached the World Series, didn’t hesitate when asked how he managed to go from long-time minor leaguer to 2026 MLB All-Star.

“Belief in myself, staying true to who I am, and just never giving up,” Clement said. “I’ve been released, I’ve been optioned more times than I can count. I stuck around long enough to earn more and more opportunities.

“I’m just so grateful to Toronto, the coaches, the staff, the front office (that) has given me an amazing opportunity. The least I can do is play well and give it back to them.”

Whereas Clement was a two-time All-ACC player at Virginia who helped the Cavaliers to their lone College World Series title in 2015, Burns and Kurtz were superstar teammates at Wake Forest just two years ago.

After two seasons at Tennessee, Burns transferred to Wake Forest. In 2024, his only year with the Demon Deacons, he set the program’s single-season strikeout record (191) and was named the ACC’s Pitcher of the Year. Cincinnati then made Burns the #2 overall pick in baseball’s 2024 amateur draft.

A power-hitting first baseman, Kurtz played three years at Wake before becoming the #4 overall pick in the 2024 draft. While with the Demon Deacons, he earned some type of All-America recognition (Freshman A-A in 2022) in all three seasons, and he served as one of the cornerstones for the Deacons’ CWS team in 2023. Last year, in his MLB debut, he hit 36 home runs and captured the AL’s Rookie of the Year award.

Unfortunately for the former Demon Deacons, each suffered a recent injury that will prevent him from participating in this year’s All-Star extravaganza. Kurtz, who also would have participated in the popular Home Run Derby contest, is on Oakland’s 10-day injured list with a sprained thumb he suffered just last week.

Burns, who is dealing with a strained groin, said he could have tried to participate in Philly. Ultimately, though, he opted against it after initiating a conversation about that decision with his manager and other team officials.

“It sucks. It was a tough decision, but I think it was the right one,” Burns said. “I’m very thankful to be selected and stuff. I just think it’s the mature decision to prioritize the second half of the (regular season) and not mess it up any more.”

2026 All-Star, MLB Team (League), ACC School

P Chase Burns, Cincinnati Reds (National), Wake Forest
2B Ernie Clement, Toronto Blue Jays (American), Virginia
1B Nick Kurtz, Oakland A’s (American), Wake Forest
P Parker Messick, Cleveland Guardians (American), Florida State
P Justin Wrobleski^, Los Angeles Dodgers (National), Clemson

2026 All-Star, MLB Team (League), NC School

Mason Miller, Oakland A’s (American), Gardner-Webb

^—finished college career elsewhere