WooSox Scholars "Class of 2026" to be Honored on the Field at Polar Park Sat., June 6

WORCESTER, MA — Four Worcester Public Schools 8th graders were today named the WooSox Scholars “Class of 2026” and will each receive a college scholarship of $10,000 from the WooSox Foundation. This group, the sixth class of scholars, will be inducted in a pre-game ceremony at Polar Park Saturday, June 6, before the Worcester Red Sox face the Buffalo Bisons (Triple-A, Toronto Blue Jays) at 4:05 p.m. Since the WooSox Scholars program launched in 2021, the WooSox Foundation has committed $240,000 to 24 scholars.

This year’s recipients, selected from more than 1,700 applicants––the entire 8th grade in Worcester Public Schools––are Jainiemar Torres-Morales of Burncoat Middle School, as well as Prince Martinez-Carlos, Dieunayson Georges, and Brielle Nyame-Addo, all of Worcester East Middle School.

The 8th grade faculty of Worcester Public Schools winnowed the applications from more than 1,700 down to 86, from which a committee of WooSox Foundation officials selected 18 finalists. After interviewing each finalist, the committee selected the four WooSox Scholars.

The 18 finalists were so impressive in and out of the classroom that the committee also selected a record 8 WooSox Foundation Fellows, who will each receive a college scholarship of $1,000.

The fellows are Gloria Zuzi and Maria Perez-Hernandez of Burncoat Middle School; Danylo Kolpakov and Breshna Zaitune of Forest Grove Middle School; Chrissy Grant and King Asante of Worcester East Middle School; and Wilmary Beriguete-Mejia and Lev Matushchak of Sullivan Middle School.

The foundation pays the funds directly to the college for tuition and books upon matriculation, provided the students maintain good performance in academics and citizenship.

Upon taking over the Pawtucket Red Sox after the 2015 season, franchise leaders created the PawSox Scholars––with the first pair of students announced on November 4, 2016––and selected a total of 10 through 2019 (two per year in 2016, 2017, 2018, and four in 2019).

Steinberg conceived the program in 1992 while with the Baltimore Orioles, after the late Red Sox and WooSox Hall of Famer Larry Lucchino asked him to create a singular impactful program for which the Orioles’ community efforts could be known. The pair implemented the program when they joined the San Diego Padres in 1995. For 20 years, 25 Padres Scholars received college scholarships from the Padres Foundation of $5,000 each. When Lucchino and Steinberg arrived in Boston, they created the Red Sox Scholars, through which the newly established Red Sox Foundation provided scholarships of $10,000 each.

The Red Sox Scholars program won Major League Baseball’s first-ever “Commissioner’s Award for Philanthropic Excellence,” later named to honor the award’s creator, Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig.

There are now more than 800 Padres Scholars, Red Sox Scholars, PawSox Scholars, and WooSox Scholars.

Lucchino and Steinberg established the WooSox Foundation on January 28, 2020, and announced the creation of the WooSox Scholars that day at the Worcester Public Library.

Today, Thursday, May 14, members of the WooSox Foundation drove the WooSox Foundation Care-A-Van, a large, red RV, to Burncoat and Worcester East to surprise this year’s scholars with the exciting news.

“Surprising the four members of the WooSox Scholars Class of 2026 at their schools today was a great reminder of what this program is all about,” said Emerson White, the WooSox’ Manager of Community Relations and the WooSox Foundation. “Each of these students has already shown incredible resilience, and their stories are truly inspiring. We are so lucky that the WooSox Foundation gets to be a small part of their bright futures.”