The first-ever NABJ-Rob Parker/MLBbro.com Scholarship was awarded to Marcus Craig, a rising sophomore at Morehouse College from Prince George’s County, Maryland.

Marcus Craig, Rising Sophomore at Morehouse, Won the 2026 NABJ-Rob Parker/MLBbro Scholarship, per the NABJ Selection Committee

The scholarship awards $2,500 to Craig, the associate producer of arts & entertainment at The Maroon Tiger, Morehouse’s student news organization. Craig spent this summer completing the NYU Ed Bradley Journalism Fellowship.

Eligible applicants were rising sophomores, juniors, seniors or graduate students with at least one full year of school remaining at the time of their application. They also must have been a current NABJ student member in good standing, have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above and be in pursuit of a degree in journalism or communications with an emphasis in sports.

The scholarship will be an annual way for NABJ Hall of Famer Parker to support the next generation of sports journalists.

“Along with telling the stories of Black baseball players both past and present, our goal is to also develop the next generation of Black baseball writers and content creators,” MLBbro.com founder and editor Parker said. “This is our first step to keeping that promise. We are thrilled that we can help Marcus with his education in journalism.”

Craig began his journalism career as a managing editor and editor-in-chief at St. John’s College High School’s student newspaper. He attended sports broadcasting camps in Boston to learn the basics of covering sports on TV, his career goal.

Craig was a staff writer and video producer for The Maroon Tiger as a freshman and has found a passion for telling important stories and moments. He writes on Substack and has a podcast where he discusses the NFL.

“In my personal statement that I wrote for the scholarship, I said that joy is part of the human experience,” Craig said. “I think sports and telling the stories of what gives people joy is my contribution.”

He was in the media scrum when President Donald Trump appeared at the 2024 NABJ Convention as a rising high school senior. Craig covered HBCU Night at an Atlanta Hawks game this winter.

“I wrote a feature for The Maroon Tiger on a girl who graduated from Clark Atlanta University this year,” Craig said. “She got into Kai Cenat’s Streamer University. I heard how excited her family was about her. Her mom said, ‘Yes, you accurately told my baby’s whole story from start to finish.’ It gave me the feeling that this is what I’m supposed to be doing.”