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With the 2021 baseball season officially in the book, former Eastern Illinois baseball players made noise at all levels of professional baseball this past season with six former players active in the minor leagues this season and five former Panthers in coaching roles with MLB teams.
 
EIU's Kevin Seitzer capped the season earlier this week as a member of the Atlanta Braves coaching staff as the Braves won the World Series.  Seitzer completed his seventh season as the Braves hitting coach becoming the second former Panther to hoist the World Series trophy in the last couple of years.  Former Panther Tim Bogar was a member of the Washington Nationals coaching staff in 2019 when Washington won the World Series.  Bogar just completed his fourth season as the bench coach for the Nationals.
 
Andy Haines completed his third season as the hitting coach for the Milwaukee Brewers helping the team win the NL Central title.   Derek Johnson wrapped up his fourth season as the pitching coach for the Cincinnati Reds.  Kyle Haines completed his third season as the Director of Player Development for the San Francisco Giants as the franchise won the NL West winning 107 games.
 
On the field Trey Sweeney became the Panthers first first-team All-American at the NCAA Division I level in the spring before being selected 20th overall by the New York Yankees in the 2021 MLB Draft.  Sweeney closed out his year playing with two different teams in the Yankees organization appearing in 32 games with a .261 average.  Sweeney added seven home runs, four doubles, four triples, 30 runs and 14 RBI as he closed the season with Single A Tampa Tarpons.
 
Will Klein, a 5th round MLB Draft pick in 2020, was named the Kansas City Royals Minor League Pitcher of the Year by MLB Pipeline.  Klein appeared in 36 games with a 3.20 ERA. He posted a 7-1 record with four saves.  In 70.1 innings pitched for the High-A Quad City River Bandits, Klein had 121 strikeouts.
 
Jimmy Govern began the season with Klein at the Royals High-A team before playing for three different teams during the season.  Govern ended the year with the Double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals.  Govern hit .265 with 11 home runs, 23 doubles and 53 RBI over the course of the season playing in 92 games.
 
Michael YaSenka was a starting pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals High-A franchise in Peoria.  YaSenka made 21 starts during the year with a 1-9 record and 6.11 ERA.  He would post 103 strikeouts in 95.2 innings of work.
 
Jake Haberer appeared in 26 games as a relief pitcher for the Seattle Mariners Double-A franchise, the Arkansas Travelers.  Haberer was 1-3 with a 6.12 ERA.  He would pick up 26 strikeouts in 32.1 innings of work.
 
Matt Wivinis was the Panthers final player in the minor leagues.  Wivinis was picked up in the Minor League Rule V Draft by the Texas Rangers last winter but did not pitch during the 2021 season due to injury.