The movie "21," which is based on a true story, follows a team of Massachusetts Institute of Technology students and one of their professors as they try to strike it rich at blackjack by counting cards in Las Vegas.

Although such an unorthodox use of mathematical brilliance might be rare, the 2008 film from Columbia Pictures does underscore the vast potential of all who attend the world-renown private research university in Cambridge.

"They do things there that haven't been done before," said 2009 Watkins Memorial High School graduate Sean Fannin, who has received a full scholarship worth more than $52,000 to attend MIT next year.

Perhaps lesser known is the fact that an institution specializing in science and technological research and development also offers a wide range of athletic opportunities, baseball and even football included.

Fannin, a three-year varsity starter in the outfield for the Warriors, applied to the MIT with academics in mind, but he also understands the benefits of becoming a well-rounded member of the student body as he prepares to play baseball there, too.

"It'll be a great release from all the pressure you face at a school like that," Fannin said before taking the field as one of three players from Watkins Memorial who are members of the Pickerington American Legion Post 283 baseball team, which this summer is trying to earn a third trip to the state tournament in four years. "A lot of people don't know it, but they offer more athletics (33 varsity sports) than any other Division III school in the country.

"Besides, baseball and math go together pretty well. There's a lot of thinking, a lot of numbers. I guess maybe that's why I was always drawn to it."

Fannin, who played only baseball at Watkins Memorial, remains unsure of his particular course of study but is interested in aerospace engineering, among other things. He ranked first in his graduating class and served was the class valedictorian. He scored a 32 on the ACT and a 2,100 on the SAT.

"He's a great role model for our younger kids," Post 283 coach Chris Weber said. "He was committed to a sport and was still able to achieve what he's capable of in the classroom."

Fannin is a two-time first-team all-OCC-Capital Division performer who also was second-team all-district in Division I as a senior. He played on the 2007 team that advanced to a Division II regional final one season after the Warriors captured their first district title and reached the state tournament behind standouts such as Eric Arnett, who last month was taken in the first round of the MLB amateur draft by the Milwaukee Brewers.

At the MIT, Fannin will be joining a baseball program that is coming off its best season. The Engineers, who compete in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC), finished 25-14 this past spring under sixth-year coach Andy Barlow, who first saw Fannin play when Fannin attended a baseball camp last summer at Harvard.

Barlow, who also has coached at Colgate and Vassar College, has helped several players reach the major leagues over the years, most notably former Cy Young Award winner Barry Zito.

"It's a smaller program, sure, but it's kind of growing right now and the team is getting better every year," said Fannin, who is playing left field and right field for Post 283. "It's just a great fit for me all the way around, really."