Former Yellow Jacket Baseball Players Chasing the Major Leagues
Former Yellow Jacket players Payton Eeles and Tanner Gillis are climbing toward the major leagues, learning the path is rarely smooth. On the Cedarville Stories podcast, they reflect on faith, discipline, community support and trusting God’s timing.
Payton Eeles and Tanner Gillis are living their baseball dreams. Both former Yellow Jacket baseball players are moving closer to the major leagues and learning that the climb is rarely clean and never entirely predictable.
Minor League Baseball Journey: Learning the Sport of Failure and Growth
Baseball is a sport of failure that teaches a person to live between what’s hoped for and what’s in hand. There’s always another series, another chance, and another day to get better. Payton has carried his dream since childhood, the sort of long-held desire that feels as natural as a glove on his left hand. Tanner’s path has required the same steady grit — the willingness to keep showing up, keep competing, and keep believing that today’s work matters even when tomorrow’s roster is unknown.
What sets their story apart isn’t just the pursuit but the posture. The game can tempt players to measure life in innings pitched, box scores, and call-ups. Yet Payton and Tanner’s grounding runs deeper. They’ve learned to trust God’s timing the way a good ballplayer trusts the process: staying disciplined, resisting panic, and letting the season unfold one pitch at a time. Some prayers get answered quickly; others develop like a slow-breaking curve — still true, still on the way, still under control.
Cedarville Stories Podcast Highlights: Baseball, Faith, and Community Support
That big-picture perspective came through recently on the Cedarville Stories podcast, where both players reflected on baseball, faith, and the steadying confidence that comes from believing there’s a plan even when the details aren’t visible yet. They shared that when Cedarville friends show up in the stands, it turns the whole thing into something warmer than a career climb. It becomes a reminder that the journey is meant to be carried with others and that gratitude can keep ambition from getting too loud.
Major League Baseball Dreams: Staying Humble, Working Hard, and Trusting the Process
For Eeles and Gillis, the aim is still the big leagues, but the deeper goal is staying steady — playing hard, staying humble, and trusting the Author of the story to call the right pitch at the right time.
About Cedarville University
Cedarville University, an evangelical Christian institution in southwest Ohio, offers undergraduate and graduate residential and online programs across arts, sciences and professional fields. With 7,265 students, it is among Ohio's largest private universities and is ranked among the nation’s top five evangelical universities in the Wall Street Journal’s 2026 Best Colleges in the U.S. Cedarville is also known for its vibrant Christian community, challenging academics and high graduation and retention rates. Learn more at cedarville.edu.