Huntingdon Celebrates Hunter Ensley Day

HUNTINGDON (July 6) — The town of blue and gold was a town of orange and white as Huntingdon and many surrounding towns celebrated Hunter Ensley and the national college baseball champions, UT Vols.

It was a day designated as Hunter Ensley Day, as the national baseball star was celebrated for his tremendous baseball effort that helped earn the UT Vols the championship in Omaha.

A short parade from Huntingdon City Hall to the courtsquare was in his honor. While the majority of Huntingdon folks were in the audience, it was also filled with folks from McKenzie and Milan as they celebrated in the hometown hero’s championship.

UT Head Coach Tony Vitello and Ensley were both honored at Mallard’s Restaurant on Friday evening before the big day on Saturday for Ensley.

Ensley was modest in his remarks, thanked the people who helped celebrate the championship, and autographed many caps, baseballs, and t-shirts as time permitted.

The day was complete with comments by Dr. Jonathan Kee, director of schools, Huntingdon Football Coach Eric Swenson, Huntingdon Mayor Nina Smothers and Huntingdon Baseball Coach Alan Eubanks.

The Volunteers clinched their first College World Series National Championship beating the Texas A&M Aggies in game three. Ensley played a pivotal role in the Volunteers’ success. His performance throughout the tournament showcased his ability to deliver in clutch moments—ultimately helping to secure the championship. His bat and especially his base running ability were crucial in the game three victory.

Comments by Dr. Jonathan Kee, Director of Schools
This is a special day. A lot of you are proud of Hunter. Today is Hunter’s day, and he deserves it. He’s earned his success, I’m so proud to see how this young man carries himself and how he uses his platform to inspire these boys and girls in front of us today.

He inspires them to dream. We know he’s tough. We just thought the collision in center field was the play of the world series, and Hunter had more in store for us. We got to see his creativity, his determination, and once again his toughness. Was there any doubt Hunter was going to make it home? Well, ladies and gentlemen today, Hunter has made it home for each one of you.

Mayor Nina Smothers’ Comments
The entire town of Huntingdon recently became glued to the TV during the college world series, as well as some citizens shared in person.

He was center stage. We were able to hear Huntingdon mentioned several times on the national airways.

What a thrill to see the young man we knew from little league, middle school football and basketball become a part of the Volunteer National Championship team. We want you to know, Hunter, that we are so very proud of you and your hard work, and we want to thank you for all the excitement that we got to share as a town in the legendary wall catch and the slide to home plate.

Congratulations to you and to your teammates in the 2024 College World Series. It’s my pleasure this morning to present to you the highest honor that we have as a town, and it’s called the Pinnacle of Excellence Award. This is presented to Hunter Ensley, member of the University of Tennessee 2024 NCAA Division I Baseball National Championship Team.

Hunter Ensley’s Response to Mayor Smothers
I don’t really have a list of things to say, but this is pretty much just coming from the heart. Obviously, what an incredible crowd today.

And it’s pretty incredible to be up here and celebrate it with you guys in this town. I want to thank Coach Eubanks, April Taylor, my parents, and Lori Nolen. They set this whole thing up, I’m extremely grateful for them. And I just want to thank you all, speaking for myself and the team. Yeah, we’re four and a half hours away, but we truly feel this town from Knoxville, and it’s incredible. I just want to thank you all today.

Huntingdon Football Coach Eric Swenson’s Remarks
Hunter’s a great athlete, there’s no doubt about that. But the thing that made Hunter different was that he wasn’t just a great athlete, he had a great work ethic.

You never had to worry about effort. He never came to a practice and didn’t give effort. That’s what made him different. He would play hurt but he wouldn’t let you know it. He was old school tough. And like I said, his work ethic is what made him so much different than anybody else. I’d have coaches that I knew across the state, and they would text me wanting to know what it was like to coach Hunter. And I responded that Hunter was the ultimate competitor. He competed in everything, every minute of the day. In the weight room, he was competing. If we were in the locker room, he was competing.

He was competing. I mean, non-stop, focus, one-hundred percent attention. He was going to win.

HHS Baseball Coach Alan Eubanks’ Remarks
Guys, it’s obvious the impact that Hunter makes on communities. Just look around today.

It’s obvious the impact that he makes, that he’s made in Knoxville. UT Coach Tony Vitello came down the night before and told me how much Hunter means to him and the people in Knoxville. When we started planning this, I said we need to do a highlight video. Then I said I’m gonna reach out but probably won’t be hear back. I heard back the next day and they said absolutely. Shout out to Scott Hampton for working on the video.

After the video, Eubanks joked that the Mustangs practiced that slide Hunter made in the championship game.