Kyle Schwarber will be a guest selector on the ESPN College GameDay Show

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – One of the hallmarks of ESPN’s College GameDay Show is its picks segment where the panel picks that week’s pick of games. One of the brands in this segment is the guest selector.

ESPN often goes out of its way to get a guest picker who is famous, associated with the location they are in, and often both.

With College GameDay in Bloomington on Saturday, ESPN revealed its pick – Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter and Indiana baseball alumnus Kyle Schwarber.

“I can’t wait for all of you to be there on Saturday to cheer on the Hoosiers. And I also can’t wait to be the celebrity guest picker for College GameDay. It will be exciting. It’ll be fun. I can’t wait to see you all there and make Hoosiers! Schwarber said via an ESPN X post.

College GameDay airs at 9 p.m., but the picks segment typically occurs in the show’s final hour, which runs until noon.

There was a lot of speculation about who the guest selector could be. Guesses ranged from Indiana greats like Isiah Thomas or Victor Oladipo to Indianapolis stars like Catilin Clark or local legends like John Mellencamp.

Guest pickers at other venues this season have included Sheamus, Johnny Manziel, Michael Phelps, Dawn Staley, Blake Shelton, Marshawn Lynch, Kaitlin Olson and Scottie Scheffler. Schwarber is the first baseball personality to appear since Alex Rodriguez did so at Clemson in 2020.

Schwarber, who played catcher at Indiana from 2012 to 2014, is one of Hoosier baseball’s most decorated alumni. Schwarber batted .342 in his three seasons in Bloomington while hitting 40 homers and having 129 RBI as a Hoosier.

After helping Indiana reach the College World Series in 2013, Schwarber was drafted fourth overall in the 2014 MLB Draft by the Chicago Cubs. Schwarber helped the Cubs win the World Series in 2016.

Schwarber played for the Cubs from 2015 to 2020 and then for the Washington Nationals and Boston Red Sox in 2021 before reviving his career when he signed with the Phillies as a free agent in 2022.

With Philadelphia, Schwarber hit 131 home runs and 302 RBI.

In the recently concluded season, Schwarber hit 38 home runs and 104 RBI. He has hit 131 home runs over the past three seasons, the highest output of his career. The Phillies won the National League East Division, but lost to the New York Mets in the NLDS.

During the season, Schwarber surpassed Ted Kluszewski to become Indiana’s all-time home run king in Major League Baseball. Schwarber now has 284 career home runs.

He also set a Major League record with 14 home runs to start a game.