As the sun eased its way behind Mount San Jacinto on June 5, casting welcome shadows on the Palm Springs Stadium baseball diamond, it was time for some of the area’s best high school senior baseball players to take the field in the inaugural Coachella Valley All-Star Baseball Classic.
The two teams assembled for this contest were dubbed the Diamond Kings, coached by Jake Knesel of Banning High School, and the Slugger Squad, coached by Ricky Gingras of Palm Desert High School. Their rosters included players from Palm Desert, La Quinta, Indio, Desert Hot Springs, Rancho Mirage, Twentynine Palms, Coachella Valley, Shadow Hills and Banning high schools, as well as Desert Christian Academy, Desert Chapel Christian School and Xavier College Prep.
About 150 fans were in attendance, per the estimate of event director Brian Arrington, who is also the owner and general manager of the newly established FOX Sports AM 1270 radio station in Palm Springs, as well as a former football and basketball coach known to many as Coach B.
The teams battled for seven innings, with the Diamond Kings coming out on top, 6-0.
“We’ve done all-star games (in other sports) for about six years,” Arrington told the Independent after the game, “but this was my first baseball game. It exceeded my expectations. I have to say a thank you to the athletic director from Palm Desert High School, coach Estevan Valencia, because he helped me with the nuts and bolts of the game. Baseball is sacred, right? It’s America’s pastime. They have rituals and things that you have to do, so he showed me structure, and he made the game a lot smoother for me.”
Arrington also expressed appreciation for Palm Springs Power owner Andrew Starke, who agreed to host the game at his team’s home field, even though the Power’s 2025 season was already under way.
“(The game) exceeded our expectations attendance-wise, and player-participation-wise. We had challenges. For some of the kids … it was still a school day. In Cathedral City, their kids couldn’t participate, because they graduated that day, and Rancho Mirage’s (team) was still in the playoffs. … We had a kid show up at, like, 5:55 p.m. (for a 6 o’clock start), but even with those challenges, the game exceeded our wildest expectations.”
Arrington, who was raised in Compton and later Downey, got into the business of staging all-star contests for a variety of Inland Empire regional sports in an effort to honor the best participating high school athletes, regardless of financial status.
Members of the Slugger Squad team watch the action during their loss in the inaugural Coachella Valley All-Star Baseball Classic. Credit: Kevin Fitzgerald 
A player for the Slugger Squad team waits with his gear to move into the on-deck circle. Credit: Kevin Fitzgerald 
Diamond Kings first baseman—and game MVP—Christian Adamson scores on a passed ball during the inaugural Coachella Valley All-Star Baseball Classic. Credit: Kevin Fitzgerald 
Good sportsmanship and camaraderie were often on display during the inaugural Coachella Valley All-Star Baseball Classic. Credit: Kevin Fitzgerald 
Family members of the players, friends and fans enjoy the action. Credit: Kevin Fitzgerald 
Diamond Kings players celebrate as they leave the field between innings. Credit: Kevin Fitzgerald 
Diamond Kings first baseman Christian Adamson was named MVP of the inaugural Coachella Valley All-Star Baseball Classic, put on by Brian Arrington (right). Photo courtesy of the Coachella Valley All-Star Baseball Classic 
Camden Mudry, a senior at Palm Desert High School, was one of the pitchers who took the mound for the Slugger Squad. Credit: Kevin Fitzgerald 
Event director Brian Arrington prepares the souvenir table at the inaugural Coachella Valley All-Star Baseball Classic. Credit: Kevin Fitzgerald
“We grew up in the inner city,” Arrington said. “We didn’t have much. We really couldn’t afford to participate in sports. When we started our radio show in the Inland Empire, there were all-star games that were charging kids $150 (to participate), and this was 10 years ago. I didn’t think that was right, because you’re only going to get the athletes who come from better backgrounds to participate—but a lot of times, the athletes who are the best athletes don’t come from those means.”
Arrington said he never charges participating athletes, and even gives a partial college scholarship to the player named MVP of each contest.
“They get to keep their uniforms free of charge. Everything is free to them, and we just honor those kids,” Arrington said. “That’s the thing that motivated me to do this—just honor our student athletes, because they’re a precious asset. … There’s nothing like high school. Some of my best friends still are from high school, and I still keep in contact, (although) I graduated 30 years ago.”
The MVP of the inaugural Coachella Valley Baseball All-Star Classic was Christian Adamson of Desert Christian Academy. Playing first base for the Diamond Kings, Adamson tripled and scored two runs in the game. The honor brought him post-game cheers from teammates and fans, as well as a $250 scholarship check.
Arrington acknowledged that the debut of what he said will become an annual event in the Coachella Valley was not just a good thing for participating athletes; it was also good business for his fledgling radio outlet.
“We launched the station in January,” Arrington said, “and we were just looking for creative ways to get community engagement. That’s what we want to do. We want to get involved with the community. Back in the Inland Empire … (the) all-star basketball game we did was really successful for us. Not only do we want to be a sports-talk radio station (with) the biggest names in sports, including Dan Patrick, Colin Cowherd and Doug Gottlieb … but we want to get involved with the Coachella Valley.”
Arrington has no shortage of dreams to pursue in his new broadcast territory.
“Come next year, we want to get more integrated and add more sports,” he said. “Next year, I would love to do girls’ volleyball and maybe girls’ flag football (all-star games). I know there’s already a football game out there, but we’re looking to add other sports as well. We’ll continue this (all-star baseball game), and we’ll grow it. We have some sponsors who saw the result, because we were on Channel 3 (KESQ) news. We received great feedback post-game, and I think we have a couple of sponsors that would really want to get involved, and help us bump up the scholarship (funds) and things like that. I think that we should be around for some time.”
