Courtney Hawkins is the assistant general manager for The Texas Smoke and a professional baseball outfielder.
In his role with The Smoke, he aims to create a top-tier professional environment and set a high bar for player development, experience, and growth.
Hawkins currently plays for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He started his career with the rookie-level Bristol White Sox of the Appalachian League. The Chicago White Sox selected him in the first round, with the 13th overall selection, of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft. He played seven seasons with the White Sox and two seasons with the Cincinnati Reds.
His contract was purchased by the San Francisco Giants, and he was assigned to the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats. He became a free agent following the 2019 season. In July 2020, He signed on to play for the Skeeters of the Constellation Energy League, a makeshift four-team independent league created as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, for the 2020 season. He was named to the league’s all-star team.
He has spent his entire professional career in sports, starting out in sports licensing for The Topps Company, and then working as a Sports Agent at Aces Sports Management. There he signed the likes of Robinson Cano, Luis Castillo, Jonathan Papelbon and many others.
He became a Senior Global Sports Marketing Lead for Under Armour, overseeing all of it’s business functions – Major League Baseball Division and Pro Boxing Division. He signed superstar athletes, including Canelo Alvarez, Bryce Harper, Francisco Lindor, and Aaron Judge. Mays also serves on the Board of Directors for the David Ortiz Children’s Fund, Team Meals, and Thriv5.
In joining the Texas Smoke, Mays aims to set a new standard of professionalism in the sport of softball. His end goal is to make Texas Smoke the industry standard – not just for women’s sports, but for all sports.
He currently lives in New Jersey with his wife and three children and is the Head of Business Development for Web3 footwear brand, EndState.