Gabe Gross recognized as Auburn’s SEC Baseball Legend

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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (auburntigers.com) – Former Auburn All-American outfielder Gabe Gross has been named Auburn’s 2016 SEC Baseball Legend the Southeastern Conference announced on Tuesday.

Gross was a three-year starter in the Auburn outfield from 1999-2001. A career .375 hitter, he hit a blistering .430 in his All-America campaign of 2000. He remains in the school’s top-10 for career doubles (68, second), extra-base hits (108, third), walks (145, third), RBI (218, fourth), total bases (442, fifth), home runs (35, eighth) and hits (259, ninth).

A first round pick of the Toronto Blue Jays in 2001, he enjoyed a seven-year Big League career, hitting .239 with 78 doubles, eight triples, 40 home runs and 186 RBI while playing for four different teams, including a World Series appearance in 2008 with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Gross is now in his second year as a broadcaster with the SEC Network. He also coached two seasons at Auburn in 2012 and 2013 where he worked with the outfielders and directed the team’s offense. Gross is married to the former Kelly Gesch, also an Auburn graduate. The couple has two children, Allie and Jake.

The SEC Baseball Legends Presented by AT&T, featuring former standouts from Southeastern Conference member institutions, will once again be honored at the 2016 SEC Baseball Tournament May 24-29 at the Hoover Met in Hoover, Ala.

In addition to Gross, the 2016 class features Arkansas’ Norm DeBriyn, Georgia’s Cris Carpenter and Kentucky’s Scott Downs. Four legends are recognized each year.

“The SEC Baseball Legends program is an opportunity to recognize the history and tradition of baseball in our conference,” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said. “These individuals helped establish a foundation for the current and future success of our college baseball programs and the opportunities enjoyed today by our student-athletes.”

This marks the fifth consecutive year that the SEC has recognized a class of baseball legends. The 2015 class featured Andy Phillips, Alabama; David Eckstein, Florida; Mark Johnson, Texas A&M and Larry Schmittou, Vanderbilt, while the 2014 class featured Phil Garner, Tennessee; Jake Gibbs, Ole Miss; Jay Powell, Mississippi State and Bobby Richardson, South Carolina.

The 2013 class honored Hal Baird, Auburn; Terry Shumpert, Kentucky; Skip Bertman, LSU; and Gene McArtor, Missouri, and the inaugural class in 2012 included: Dr. Jeffrey Laubenthal, Alabama; Kevin McReynolds, Arkansas; Brad Wilkerson, Florida and Rev. Reggie Andrews, Georgia.

“Congratulations to another great class of SEC Baseball Legends,” said Jamie Kerr, Director, AT&T Corporate Sponsorships. “We’re proud to help honor these terrific coaches and former student-athletes for everything they’ve achieved on and off the field.”