Heartland CC Professional Athletes

For Heartland CC alumni, the first week of the 2026 MLB postseason brought equal parts triumph and heartbreak — and both storylines are centered on the same first-round matchup.

Sam Antonacci Is Clutch When It Counts

Sam Antonacci has waited a long time for playoff baseball. When the moment arrived, he made it memorable.

The White Sox left fielder was front and center in Chicago's Wild Card Game 1 win over the Houston Astros, driving in two runs on a base hit in the second inning as the Sox rolled to a 6-3 victory. He also scored, finished the night with a .333 average for the game, and drew a walk — a clean, complete performance on the biggest stage of his career.

The win was part of a strong stretch for the Normal, IL product. Over the final week of the regular season and into the playoffs, Antonacci picked up multiple multi-hit games, including a 2-for-4 outing against Colorado on September 27. He carried that momentum directly into October.

There was also a lighter moment before it all began. Ahead of Game 1 pregame introductions, Antonacci intentionally tripped up the dugout steps — a self-deprecating bit of showmanship to loosen up the crowd and his teammates for a franchise that hadn't played postseason baseball in recent memory. It landed. The White Sox, apparently, are having fun.

Chicago has now advanced to the ALDS, where they'll face the Cleveland Guardians — setting up one of the more bittersweet ironies of the week.

Holderman's Season Ends Before the ALDS Begins

Colin Holderman won't get a chance to face his fellow Heartland alum in October.

The Guardians right-hander confirmed he will undergo right wrist surgery and is out for the remainder of the postseason. Holderman told reporters, including Tim Stebbins of MLB.com, that there is no path back to the roster at any point in October, making this the abrupt and painful end to what had been a promising year.

The timing is especially cruel. Cleveland earned their ALDS berth and are set to open that series against Chicago — the exact opponent, and the exact stage, where a reliever of Holderman's profile would have been most valuable. Instead, he watches from the sideline as his team takes the field without him.

For a pitcher who has worked to establish himself as a dependable bullpen arm, a postseason absence due to injury is a tough pill. There's no sugarcoating it.

---

Two Heartland CC alumni, one playoff series, two wildly different October experiences. Antonacci is thriving under the lights. Holderman is heading to surgery. The ALDS between the White Sox and Guardians just got a little more personal.

Heartland CC in MLB | Sept. 20–26, 2026

Sam Antonacci is closing out the MLB season the right way.

The Heartland CC alum and White Sox left fielder went hit-for-hit across all five of Chicago's games this week, turning the final stretch of a long season into a personal highlight reel. Antonacci's five-game hitting streak included a 3-hit explosion Friday against the Rockies in a 6-1 White Sox win, a game that saw him score a run to go along with his big night at the plate. He backed that up Saturday with another knock as Chicago took the series with a 6-9 finish.

The week's opening act was just as impressive. On Sunday, Sept. 20, Antonacci went 2-for-the-game against Detroit, drove in two runs, and scored one as the White Sox cruised to an 8-1 victory. He followed that with another hit Wednesday against Kansas City — scoring a run — and then went 2-for-it Thursday — scoring three times in a 9-1 blowout — to keep the streak alive.

All told, Antonacci collected nine hits across the five-game stretch, pushing his season batting average to .275. That's a quietly respectable number for a player on a White Sox squad that hasn't given its fans much to cheer about in recent years.

In that Sunday win over Detroit, Antonacci's two RBIs were part of a balanced offensive effort that also saw Miguel Vargas go deep and Munetaka Murakami contribute an RBI of his own — but Antonacci's contributions were central to getting Chicago on the board early.

For fans who followed Antonacci back to his days in Normal, IL, this kind of consistent late-season production is a reminder of what scouts saw in him coming out of Heartland CC. He's not just padding stats against September call-up pitching — he's been a steady presence in the lineup all week, scoring runs, driving them in, and making contact with regularity.

Also in the league: Fellow Heartland CC alum Colin Holderman remains on the Cleveland Guardians' roster as a reliever, though he did not appear in the source data for this week's action.

With just days left in the regular season, Antonacci's .275 average and a five-game hit streak represent one of the more satisfying storylines a Heartland CC fan could ask for heading into the offseason.