On Saturday, September 12, Utah Jazz forward Ace Bailey threw out the ceremonial first pitch for the Chattanooga Lookouts. The Lookouts are the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds and faced off against the Rocket City Trash Pandas.

Bailey threw the pitch at Erlanger Park in Chattanooga. The ballpark is new and opened this past April for the 2026 Minor League Baseball season. The ballpark replaced Chattanooga's former home, AT&T Field, which hosted the Lookouts from 2000 to 2025.

The Lookouts lost to Rocket City after Bailey's ceremonial first pitch, 2-0. It was the second-to-last game of the 2026 MiLB season. Chattanooga also lost to the Trash Pandas on Sunday, September 13, by a score of 12-9. They finished the 2026 regular season with a 59-79 overall record.

Chattanooga roots and basketball career

Bailey's first pitch in Chattanooga this past Saturday marked a return to his hometown. The Utah Jazz player grew up in Chattanooga and played his freshman season of high school basketball for the Boyd-Buchanan School.

After his freshman season, he transferred to McEachern High School in Powder Springs, Georgia which is where he finished his high school career.

According to 24/7 Sports, Bailey was nationally ranked as the number two basketball player in the 2024 high school class. The only player with a higher ranking than him was Cooper Flagg, who played in college for the Duke Blue Devils and now plays in the NBA for the Dallas Mavericks.

Bailey committed to Rutgers and played one season of college basketball for the Scarlet Knights. He was the school's highest-ranked recruit of all-time.

Bailey was a formidable player in college, averaging 17.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. During his freshman season with Rutgers, he was named third-team All-Big Ten and was part of the Big Ten's All-Freshman team.

In the 2025 NBA Draft, Bailey was selected fifth overall by the Utah Jazz. His Rutgers teammate, Dylan Harper, was also selected in the top five of the 2025 NBA Draft by the San Antonio Spurs.

During his rookie season in the NBA, Bailey showed that he could be a key part of a big rebuild for the Jazz. He averaged 13.8 points per game while shooting 44.3% from the field. Bailey also averaged 4.2 rebounds per game and played a total of 72 games during his rookie season in Utah.

In a little over two weeks, Bailey will return to Utah for training camp with the Jazz, which starts on September 29.

For more MiLB news: https://worldbaseball.com/news/category/milb