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On January 18, members of the 2021 IU Southeast baseball team returned to campus to celebrate their NAIA World Series appearance and receive their World Series rings in front of friends, family, IU Southeast staff, and the current baseball team.

Community members and supporters, including New Albany Mayor Jeff Gahan, were on hand as well to recognize the team for the first World Series appearance in school history.

More than 30 student-athletes, coaches and staff received their rings for that amazing run to Lewiston, Idaho.

The Grenadiers (50-16) started the 2021 season with a 5-10 record before going 45-6 the rest of the way. They won the River States Conference (RSC) regular season and tournament championships, defeated No. 1 Tennessee Wesleyan twice to claim the NAIA Opening Round Kingsport Bracket title and advanced to the NAIA World Series for the first time. The Grenadiers defeated Concordia and Keiser during World Series play and were among the final five teams remaining before falling to Faulkner.

IU Southeast became the first team to win multiple games in its World Series debut.

The event also featured the first viewing of a documentary focused on the team’s historic season. Many of the student-athletes were members of the 2020 team that went 18-1 before the COVID-19 pandemic ended their season. The film marks the highs and lows of the 2020 season’s cancellation and tremendous success of the 2021 campaign.

Garrett Hill and Zak Rasener, two current IU Southeast baseball players, produced the documentary and the final version should be released this summer. Click here to view the trailer.