LAFAYETTE, INDIANA – August 16, 2024 – Tonight, when the Detroit Tigers take on the New York Yankees at Comerica Park, in Detroit, there will be a familiar face to Aviators fans wearing a Detroit Tigers uniform. Trey Sweeney, who played for the Aviators in 2019, has officially been called up to the Major Leagues, becoming the first former Aviators player to make it to the big leagues.
Ironically, when Sweeney suits up for the Tigers tonight, he will be facing the team who initially drafted him out of college. The Yankees selected Sweeney in the first round (20th pick overall) in the 2021 draft, out of Eastern Illinois University. In addition to having great success at Eastern Illinois, Sweeney excelled during his summer in Lafayette. While playing for the Aviators, he batted .354, with 7 HRs, 42 RBIs and 10 SBs. Sweeney was able to parlay his stellar collegiate and summer baseball career into becoming a first round pick in the 2021 MLB Draft. After spending parts of 4 seasons across different minor league levels, and having been traded twice during his Minor League career, tonight he gets the call up to the show.
“This is a monumental day in Lafayette Aviators history,” proclaimed Aviators General Manager, David Krakower. “Over the course of the Aviators’ 8-year history, we have proudly sent 25 players on to the professional level. But to have one of our alumni donning a Major League Uniform gives us a new level of notoriety. I am excited, as I’m sure all Aviators fans are, to see him in a Detroit Tigers uniform.”
The Aviators just finished up their 2024 season and are already in the planning phases of the 2025 season, which will begin in late May. For more information on the Aviators, please visit www.lafayettebaseball.com
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About The Lafayette Aviators:
The Lafayette Aviators are a Prospect League summer college baseball team based in Lafayette, Indiana. The team consists of college players looking to improve their skills for further college play and to potentially play professional baseball. The Aviators won the Prospect League Championship in 2017 and were Eastern Conference Champions in 2021, their first season in beautiful new Loeb Stadium, a City of Lafayette facility. Also in 2021, former Aviator player Trey Sweeney, was the first-round pick of the New York Yankees, and made his Major League debut with the Detroit Tigers in 2024.
