Dillard baseball swinging for the fences in inaugural season

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - “It’s like a dream come true. You always want to leave a footprint on this earth, and I think the best way to do that is to make history,” said Jonathan Miles, a short stop for the inaugural Dillard Bleu Devils baseball team.

Friday, for the first time ever, the Dillard baseball team will take the diamond.

“First pitch, first hit, first strikeout, first home run, everything that they do in this first year, they’re going to be enshrined in the record books,” said Trennis Grant, the team’s head baseball coach.

When Coach Grant stepped on campus to lead the program in their inaugural season, all he had was a baseball bat and a dream. No facilities, uniforms, or even baseballs. So the job came with a certain set of challenges.

“Early on it was recruiting, because you didn’t have anything to show the kids. They didn’t have anything they could see in terms of record. The only things that was on the website was me. A picture of me,” said Grant.

So that’s exactly what he pitched. Who he was as a man, and as a coach. Then, the commitments started rolling in.

“Great character, tough young men, that’s what I need. Those guys who would take the program forward and make sure they put a stamp on this signature year,” said Grant.

With this being their inaugural season, there aren’t many expectations from the outside for the Bleu Devils to win initially. But with Coach Grant coming off back-to-back SWAC championships at Southern, he’s not buying into that mindset. Whether it’s the first year or not, this team is swinging for the fences.

“It’s regional or bust. If we can’t get into a regional, we’ve underachieved. I’m as hungry as any man can be. I’m as hungry as four bears fighting over a tuna,” said Grant with a smile.

See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Click Here to report it. Please include the headline.

Copyright 2023 WVUE. All rights reserved.