The homegrown pride of downstate Eureka, the literal road a young Ben Zobrist would have taken to Wrigley Field – Interstate 55 – may be a bit west of Olivet Nazarene University.

There’s no doubt, however, that the metaphorical road that Zobrist took on the way to a decorated MLB career that included winning the 2016 World Series MVP for the Cubs went right through Bourbonnais.

Zobrist, an Olivet student and Tigers baseball player from his 2000 graduation from Eureka until 2003, returned to campus Wednesday morning. For Zobrist to make a return wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, but what he brought with him and why was anything but.

He was there with his World Series MVP trophy, which will now be a permanent fixture inside Olivet’s Perry Recreational Center.

The trophy is stationed in front of a large, purple wall that shares the story of Zobrist’s zeitgeist as the MVP for a World Series in which the Cubs, one of the most recognizable sports teams in the world, and how his faith and lessons instilled in him at Olivet led to it.

While addressing the audience at Wednesday’s presentation of the trophy, Zobrist compared the wooden frame that the trophy now stands upon to the faith and support that came from his parents and others, particularly people from Olivet, and the glass case that it sits in represents the protection of God and the Godly people around the university that prayed and continue to pray for people like him.

And it’s because of those people from Olivet that made the school the perfect place for one of the most iconic individual accolades in Chicago professional sports history to reside.

“This isn’t a story about Ben being an MVP, this is a story about what God has done, and how he’s used people in my life and made the pathway through Olivet to get to these places,” Zobrist said. “They were a perfect partner to showcase this, not just because they were going to tell the story that it ought to be told, but they’re going to showcase it to other young students who are going to pass by and hopefully read it.”

ONU president Dr. Gregg Chenoweth opened the ceremony with a brief speech after the trophy was unveiled. He was followed by Jeff Domagalski, advancement officer for athletics, who introduced Zobrist.

Zobrist spoke for a little less than 10 minutes about the role that his faith and Olivet played in his success, noting that individual awards like his World Series MVP trophy make him “uncomfortable” since his attention was geared towards team success and to “honor and glorify God.” He also thanked all the people who made up that foundational base, such as his parents, former coaches and others from the ONU family who helped him find a home in purple and gold.

The three-time All-Star utility man enjoyed a fruitful 14-year career for the Tampa Bay Rays, Oakland A’s, Kansas City Royals, and the Cubs. A year before helping the Cubs snap their 108-year championship drought, Zobrist also helped the Royals to the 2015 World Series. For second-year Olivet baseball coach Colton Punches, not only did his team get to see a great first-hand example of how they can glorify God through sport, but also that it is possible to reach big stages through Olivet.

“How many college baseball players, especially at our level, get the chance to talk to not just a World Series MVP, but a guy that was also hitting in the same cages they’re hitting in, that was living in the same dorms they’re living in?” Punches said. “It’s just incredible. I think it fills them with hope, like hey, a guy in our shoes that was a freshman coming in nervous and stuff, and he went on to achieve some awesome things.”

As Zobrist walked through campus from the Perry Center to a post-ceremony lunch, he got to see his old dorm, Chapman Hall, and retrace the footsteps he would make from there to the indoor batting cages on weekend nights. In addition to strengthening his faith, walking through campus reminded Zobrist of the way he was strengthened as a young man during his time as a Tiger.

“Your first few years of college, you start to figure out what’s really important to you as an individual, because you’re breaking away from your home life that you grew up with, and you learn a little bit more when you get some extra freedom within the confines of a structure that you can trust,” Zobrist said. “In that freedom, you start to find a little bit more of how you’re going to use that. ... It was one of those things where I knew that I [could] drive myself to do this, outside of even practice. The practice structure, the school structure, the Christian structure, all of that stuff was really great to protect and keep me focused.”