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The City of Troy held a special ring presentation for the Troy Post 70 baseball team in recognition of their American Legion World Series (ALWS) this past summer on Thursday at Troy City Hall.

Ross Hixon, head baseball coach of Troy Post 70, presented rings to the team today. In addition to this an official commendation from Troy Mayor Jason Reeves along with the boxes that showcase the world series rings.

“You have brought great honor to our community,” Reeves said to the team. “The success this program has had, no one can say it’s not the top program in the country and the fact that it’s affiliated with American Legion Post 70 in Troy, Ala., is a great credit to (Coach Ross Hixon) and is very much appreciated by us.”

Along with receiving a commendation from the City of Troy, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey also sent an official commendation from the state to be presented to the team. Alabama State Representative Marcus Paramore, a Troy native, presented the commendation from Ivey to the team.

“You have served in your capacity as a baseball team in great honor and brought a lot of dignity and honor to our area and we’re appreciative of that,” Paramore said. “I know all of you don’t live in Troy, or Pike County, but you represented Post 70 and that is us and we’re glad you’ve done that and done it with distinction.”

Troy Post 70 went 36-4 during the 2024 summer baseball season before going 5-0 in the State Tournament, capturing Post 70’s eighth State Championship. Post 70 then went 5-1 to win the Southeast Regional Championship to earn a spot for the third straight year in the World Series.

Post 70 went on to go 4-1 in the World Series, winning its second World Series Crown in the past three years. Post 70 is also just the third total team in Alabama history to win a World Series Championship in American Legion Baseball’s 97-year history.

“I got a call last weekend from someone with the Army-Navy game and they wanted to talk to me about Troy Post 70,” American Legion Baseball Chairman Alan Phillips said. “They lauded these young men and coaches for how they conducted themselves in Shelby, NC, in such a manner that every parent would be proud of.”

Head coach Ross Hixon said that winning a World Series Championship is Post 70’s goal each season but the type of feedback that Phillips gave means more to him than the trophies.

“That he got a call from the Army-Navy game, a huge event in the sports world, and it was about us means more to me than those rings or trophies,” Hixon emphasized. “We want good players but more importantly, we want good people. That starts with the parents. I think in the sports world, parents get a bad label. You can go to any local rec park in any town and you will probably see some of the ugly side of it.

“There’s not one parent that we’ve had a problem with in years and I’m very appreciative of that. I don’t like to sound boastful but I’m very proud of our program because of the things that people that aren’t a part of it say about us like that.”

Troy Post 70 player Houston Markham will be playing at Troy University this coming season and he also took a minute to thank the parents and the team as a whole.

“These coaches really have helped me grow into the man I am today,” said Markham. “I want to thank my teammates. Some of them I knew before I came to the team and others I got to know as we were playing. They helped me become a better man each and every day. I also want to thank the parents and all the help that came with this team.

“Like coach said, the help y’all gave us throughout the season was very, very important. I really appreciate y’all and I just want to say, Go Troy! It’s great to be a part of the best team in the country with the best coaches, best teammates and best family.”

Troy Post 70’s coaching staff was made up this season of Hixon, Hunter Mann, Matt Whitton, Tanner Wells and DJ Law. The players consisted of Caden Collier, Easton Dean, Cole Hewett, Payne Jefcoat, Gunnar Justice, Jackson Kilcrease, Brody Lindsey, Haze McCorkel, Houston Markham, Will Rice, Matt Snell, Evan Taylor, Brady Richardson, Cody Walsh, Easton Walsh, Aiden Wright and Blake Wynn.