06 Aug 2025 NPC to participate in Natural State Baseball Showcase
NORTH LITTLE ROCK — The National Park College (NPC) Nighthawks baseball team was selected to participate in the inaugural Natural State Baseball Showcase, announced in a press conference at Dickey-Stephens Park at CHI St. Vincent Field on July 31.
Sponsored by Arkansas Division of Higher Education and Arkansas Scholarship Lottery, NPC joins eight other junior colleges in Arkansas who will compete in the showcase—Arkansas State University Mid-South (West Memphis), Arkansas State University-Mountain Home (Mountain Home), Arkansas State University-Three Rivers (Malvern), North Arkansas College (Harrison), South Arkansas College (El Dorado), Southeast Arkansas College (Pine Bluff), Southern Arkansas University Tech (Camden) and University of Arkansas Rich Mountain (Mena).
Featuring a combined 450 student-athletes from across the state, The Natural State Baseball Showcase is designed to highlight Arkansas’ two-year college baseball talent and provide student-athletes with valuable exposure to four-year programs, professional scouts and fans across the region.
The showcase will be held Oct. 10-11, 2025, at Dickey-Stephens Park at CHI St. Vincent Field in North Little Rock, the home of Arkansas Travelers baseball. NPC will play twice in the event, facing Southern Arkansas University Tech Saturday, October 11, at 9 a.m., followed by a battle against North Arkansas College later that day at 2 p.m.
“We need everyone in Arkansas to understand the quality and the level our two-year colleges play at,” said Steve Rook, Chancellor of Arkansas State University-Three Rivers. “We play in one of the toughest conferences in the nation — NJCAA Region 2 — and are a quality product. Our students play the game for the love of the game, and they play at a very high level.”
“We are very fortunate to be able to showcase our abilities in such an amazing facility here in Arkansas,” NPC Athletic Director and head baseball coach Rich Thompson said. “I was fortunate enough to be here in 2007 when Dickey-Stephens Park opened. The Arkansas Travelers do an amazing job and I’m so glad we get to share this experience with our junior college athletes. I hope this continues in the future and we appreciate Arkansas Scholarship Lottery and Arkansas Division of Higher Education for their investment in junior college athletics in the state.”
For more information on schedules, rosters and more, visit Nighthawk Athletics online. Fans can also follow the Nighthawks all season on social media.
