School of Journalism and Media Students Produce Documentary on Vol Baseball Star Hunter Ensley
A new student-produced documentary titled Hunter premiered February 13 on the Tennessee Athletics YouTube page.
The 45-minute documentary, produced as part of a School of Journalism and Media Video Sports Production and Performance class last fall, tells the inspiring story of Tennessee baseball outfielder Hunter Ensley and his journey from humble beginnings in Alaska and small-town West Tennessee to becoming a Tennessee baseball star during the program’s historic national championship run.
This film is a collaboration between the School of Journalism and Media, Tennessee Athletics and The Media Center at the College of Communication and Information.
“This shows the power of partnering and we love providing these hands-on experiences to our students,” said School of Journalism and Media director Amy Jo Coffey. “Being ‘hands on from day one’ and telling powerful stories is what we do. And what better story than a Vol playing America’s pastime, conquering adversity, and contributing to the program’s first national title? Students will never forget this class or this project.”
School of Journalism and Media Lecturer Isaac Fowler said Nick Geidner, professor and director of The Media Center, approached him last February about teaching a sports documentary production course in the fall.
“I couldn’t turn that down,” Fowler said. “It’s an incredible opportunity for the students and college.”
When Fowler met with Tennessee Athletics to brainstorm about the documentary last July, Tennessee fans were still experiencing the euphoria of the Vols baseball team winning its first national title. Fowler said everyone thought it was a “no-brainer” to make the documentary about the baseball team.
“And when you look at that team and the stories on that team, Hunter cemented himself as a Tennessee legend at the World Series. Yet, we didn’t know a whole lot about his story at the beginning, except he had made an incredible run last season.”
The student production team hit the ground running the first day of class.
Overall, students conducted more than 12 hours of in-depth interviews and reviewed more than 100 hours of archival footage to tell Ensley’s story.
Fowler said something that is foundational for both the School of Journalism and Media and the athletics department is developing students, so he ensured they were involved in every step of the process.
“They put so much time into this. I hope that it pays dividends for them. When they go to apply for internships and their first job, they can actually say they know what it takes to work in production because we did it,” Fowler said. “We did it on a full-scale level.”
An unforgettable hands-on experience
Geidner said the School of Journalism and Media and The Media Center’s skill is telling the stories of the community. He added collaborative projects such as the Hunter documentary allows them to do so whilst providing students amazing experiences.
“I’ve been lucky enough to see over and over again that if we invest in our students, if we support them, they can do great work,” Geidner said.
College of Communication and Information master’s student Rylie West joined Fowler’s class to further develop her storytelling skills and gain additional hands-on experience in the field as a student. At the time of registration, she only knew it was going to be a semester-long project teaching students how to create a sports documentary from start to finish.
“The moment I heard ‘sports,’ I was in,” West said. “It was my first semester not playing softball, which freed up my schedule a bit. As a master’s student starting that fall, I was determined to make the most of my final year, and this class felt like the perfect fit.”
When she learned it was going to be about Ensley, her excitement only grew.
West said most of her experience in video storytelling prior to this project has been short-form such as YouTube shows, social media clips, and quick-hit stories, so she was grateful for the opportunity to do a more comprehensive piece.
She said this documentary aligned with her passion for storytelling and helping people see athletes as more than the jerseys they wear on game day. She hopes viewers realize big plays—like Ensley’s catch and slide—aren’t just lucky moments but the result of years of hard work, preparation, and sacrifice.
“I also want people to understand what athletes and their families go through on their journey to greatness,” West said. “Athletes aren’t just robots in jerseys performing on weekends—they’re human beings who face struggles, setbacks, and hardships but find a way to rise above them.”
After learning that Fowler’s fall course would be focusing on creating a sports documentary, School of Journalism and Media Senior Jack Hanning knew he had to be a part of that class—even if it meant just carrying camera equipment. He would eventually earn the director role on the project.
Unlike some of the others, Hanning got a sense of who the documentary was about when he noticed the profile picture on the messaging app for the class, which Fowler shared three days before the first day of class, was of Ensley.
Like everyone else involved on the project, Hanning followed the baseball team’s national championship run and remembers how Ensley had two of the biggest plays in that time frame to position the team for success, so the prospect of telling those moments was a huge motivator.
He said one of his favorite moments from working on the project came when the documentary team was probably feeling at its lowest. After agonizing over how to wrap up the film after what felt like weeks of non-stop work, Hanning said they had their eureka moment and finished their work.
“It was the first time I felt like my perspective shifted, and I could enjoy the project without the stress of getting it done and making it great,” Hanning said. “It was a super rewarding moment to look back at all the hard work and see the product of it.”
When senior Carter Moore decided to switch his major to journalism and media, his dad was excited by the possibility of his son making documentaries, especially sports documentaries like those they used to watch together before he passed away during his freshman year.
So, when the opportunity arose to work on a sports documentary about Ensley, he jumped on it. Though Moore had previous documentary filming experience through Land Grant Films, he hadn’t worked on something at this scale or covered a topic he loves as much as he does college sports.
“It kind of hit me all at once when we watched the final cut as a class together,” Moore said. “It feels really special to be doing exactly what my dad imagined me to be doing.”
A Story of Resilience
School of Journalism and Media senior Sydnie Ailey still vividly recalls the plays that solidified Ensley into Tennessee baseball history during the College World Series games.
She remembers how excited her family was watching the games and the euphoria felt when the Vols won the championship. She equally enjoyed learning about Ensley’s backstory through working on the documentary, which helped give her a deeper appreciation for the team’s moment of glory back in June 2024.
Ailey worked as a producer on the documentary. Her job duties included planning and facilitating interviews, organizing trips, and helping with story development on the documentary. Ailey, who currently works for Tennessee Athletics in their strategic communications department, aspires to work in the sports communication field and felt this class provided another hands-on opportunity to help her towards that goal.
Throughout the project, Ailey said they focused on telling a story even a non-Tennessee fan could enjoy. She added the central theme of the documentary is resilience and overcoming adversity, which she thinks anyone can relate to on some level.
“You don’t have to be a Tennessee fan or an athletics fan to get that message of resilience,” Ailey said.
Fowler hopes viewers of the documentary see that great moments happen because of hard work, preparation, and determination. He said Ensley had to overcome a lot of adversity such as injuries, fighting his way back into the lineup, coaching changes, and more to get where he needed to be during the College World Series.
Fowler said UT has a strong history of sports storytelling and views this project as continuing that tradition alongside the great storytelling happening today within Tennessee Athletics. The legacy of long-time Tennessee Athletics and Vol Network producers, such as his mentors UT alumni Link Hudson (‘92) and Barry Rice (‘88), has had a major impact on him and Vol fans throughout the decades.
“That’s part of the legacy that I want to continue,” Fowler said. “This championship means so much to Tennessee fans. I think this is going to be really special and well-received.”
School of Journalism and Media Students Produce Documentary on Vol Baseball Star Hunter Ensley written by Ernest Rollins and originally published on the College of Communication & Information site.