For the past two weeks, some of the players in the world all faced off in the World Baseball Classic. Among those players, two of them once played the sport they loved at John Euliano Park.

With the tournament now in the rearview mirror, let’s take a look at how these two former Knights did in the World Baseball Classic.

Colton Gordon — Israel

Gordon played for the Knights from 2020 to 2021 and is currently in the Houston Astros system after being drafted in the 8th round of the 2022 MLB draft. Because he underwent Tommy John surgery mounted before the draft, he made his professional debut in 2022. He started in the Florida Coast League before spending some time in Single-A and the Arizona Fall League. He is the Astros’ 24th-ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline and many believe he could start this season in Triple-A.

Being an Israeli citizen is not a requirement for being part of the Israeli team. You just need to be Jewish. Because of that Gordon was selected to be a member of the team’s starting rotation.

Israel was eliminated in the group stage. They placed 4th in pool D after going 1-3. Gordon appeared in one game, a 10-0 loss to Puerto Rico. He pitched for one inning, giving up four hits and three runs.

Darnell Sweeney — Great Britain

Sweeney played for the Knights from 2010 to 2011. He was drafted in the 13th round of the 2012 MLB draft by the Los Angles Dodgers. He spent time in the minor league system for several teams and even made appearances in some MLB. Games as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies and the Toronto Blue Jays. He was last a member of the Kansas City Monarchs of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an independent league that is an MLB Partner League. He is currently a free agent.

Sweeney’s father is a native of the British Virgin Islands, a British Overseas territory, making him a British citizen by descent.

Great Britain was eliminated in the group stage. They placed 4th in pool C after going 1-3. Sweeney appears in all four games, as a starter in the first three and as a pinch hitter in the final game. He made nine plate appearances and recorded four hits and one RBI.