Chicago Baseball & Educational Academy
Athletics + Education = Empowerment
Throughout his MLB baseball career, playing for teams across the country, Curtis Granderson became acutely aware that many children lacked access to athletics, education and mentoring opportunities. To close this gap, he established the Curtis Granderson Foundation to support youth-based programs and initiatives and launched the Chicago Baseball and Educational Academy (CBEA) at his alma mater, the University of Illinois, Chicago (UIC).
Since 2016, CBEA has provided more than 25,000 Chicago youth with access to NCAA Division 1 state-of-the-art indoor and outdoor training facilities, skills-based instruction and campus-based mentorship opportunities by connecting community partners, kids and parents to our programs at UIC—available FREE of charge.
CBEA ignites possibilities for Chicago youth that they may never have imagined and nurtures well-rounded young people to follow a basepath to a brighter future.
Our Story
CBEA strives to provide Chicago youth with access to high quality baseball and fastpitch softball programs and educational opportunities that encourage them to embrace possibilities and empowers them to dream big.
Our Programs
CBEA programs offer FREE, year-round opportunities to young people—ages 8 to 18—from diverse backgrounds and under-resourced neighborhoods in Chicago, the opportunity to experience baseball and fastpitch softball coaching, training and mentoring.
With access to state-of-the-art practice space and ball fields at UIC, we provide more than 20,000 opportunities annually for kids to engage with CBEA camps, clinics, tournaments, college readiness activities and social-emotional learning sessions through the following programs:
For more than 10 years, we’ve provided 25,000+ Chicago youth with access to athletics and educational opportunities through CBEA’s community partnerships. Hear from coaches, parents and players about the positive impact we bring to their communities in our Stories from the Field video series.
Our Impact
"Due to the important partnership with CBEA, the UIC amenities are available to neighborhood leagues at no cost…to host youth clinics, practices and leadership development workshops.”
~ Cubs Charities
What our community partners have to say…
“The Show Baseball has grown to seven age levels, graduated 100% of our student athletes from high school, and placed over 30 athletes in collegiate programs across the country. This was made possible through our work with CBEA.”
~ The Show Baseball
"Our partnership with CBEA has become so important in our development by allowing us an indoor facility that we can train in the winter months so that we can keep our at-risk kids engaged in some positive training and mentoring."
~ Jackie Robinson West
"The relationship with CBEA is a marketable partnership we can use to show it is adding value for the children who join our league. CBEA’s contributions to our mission, purpose and growth have been tremendous."
~ Dunham Baseball Organization