2019 Baseball Roster
May 8 (Wed)
5 PM
Grae Kessinger
- Class:
- Junior
- Position:
- IF
- Ht./Wt.:
- 6-2 / 200
- Experience:
- 2L
- Hometown:
- Oxford, Miss.
- High School:
- Oxford
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS |
• 2019 MLB Draft Selection (2nd Round - Houston Astros) • 2019 Brooks Wallace Award Winner • 2019 All-American First Team (College Baseball Foundation) • 2019 All-American Third Team (Collegiate Baseball, ABCA) • 2019 All-South Region First Team (ABCA) • 2019 All-SEC First Team • 2019 C Spire Ferriss Trophy Finalist • 2018 NCAA Oxford Regional All-Tournament Team • 2017, 2018, 2019 SEC Academic Honor Roll • 2016 MLB Draft Selection (26th Round - San Diego Padres) |
2019 (Junior): Started all 68 games at shortstop ... Recorded team-best .330 batting average, tallying 89 hits, including 18 doubles and seven home runs ... Amassed the sixth-most at-bats (270) in a single season in program history ... Scored 67 runs, the fourth-most in program history and drove in 50 ... Won the 2019 Brooks Wallace Award, given to the nation's top shortstop ... Selected to three All-American teams ... Named ABCA All-South Region ... Tabbed First Team All-SEC ... Finalist for the C Spire Ferriss Trophy, given to the top college baseball player in Mississippi ... Went on 40-game reached-base streak from March 8 through May 14, the longest by a Rebel since Tanner Mathis reached in 41 straight in 2011 ... Went 3-for-4 with three runs scored against Arkansas State (2/20) ... Hit first home run of the season at Tulane (2/22) ... Went 2-for-4 with a double and three runs scored against Little Rock (3/5) ... Started 40-game reached-base streak with 2-for-6 day with a double, an RBI and a run scored against UAB (3/8) ... Tallied three doubles, drove in career-high five runs on 3-for-4 day in series finale against Alabama (3/17) ... Scored career-high four runs, going 2-for-4 with two doubles against Arkansas-Pine Bluff (3/20) ... Recorded four straight multi-hit games against Memphis (3/26) and in all three games at Arkansas (3/29-31) ... Tallied a career-high five hits, going 5-for-5 with two doubles, also tying a career-high with five RBI in Game 2 of Florida series (4/6) ... Homered, scored three runs and drove in two on 4-for-5 day against Kentucky (4/12) ... Had only career multi-homer game, going 3-for-4 with three runs, three RBI in series finale at Auburn (4/20) ... Recorded four straight multi-hit games against Auburn (4/20), Mississippi State (4/23) and Texas A&M (4/25-26) ... Went 6-for-12 with five runs scored in Texas A&M series ... Drove in three runs, went 3-for-7 in series finale at LSU (5/5) ... Had hits in all three games of Mississippi State series, including two multi-hit performances ... Hit game-winning home run as part of 3-for-4 day in SEC Tournament semifinal victory over Georgia (5/25) ... Scored two runs, drove in two, going 2-for-4 in SEC Tournament championship game against Vanderbilt (5/26) ... Scored three runs in NCAA Oxford Regional opener against Jacksonville State (5/31) ... Homered twice, drove in three runs and scored four in Fayetteville Super Regional at Arkansas (6/8-10).
2018 (Sophomore): Started 62 games at shortstop ... Hit .300 with 18 doubles and eight home runs ... Scored 56 runs and drove in 37 ... Named to NCAA Oxford Regional All-Tournament Team ... Opened season on eight-game hitting streak ... Went 4-for-5 with a double and three runs scored against Memphis (2/20) ... Hit first home run of the season as part of 2-for-3 day with a run scored and two RBI in Game 2 against Tulane (2/24) ... Went 3-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and two RBI at Long Beach State (3/4) ... Went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI at Georgia State (3/13) ... Went 6-for-9 with two three-hit games, two doubles, three runs scored and two RBI against Tennessee (3/16-17) ... Homered in back-to-back games against Arkansas State (4/18) and Georgia (4/20) ... Went 2-for-5 with two doubles in Game 2 against Georgia (4/20) ... Drove in two runs and went 2-for-4 in series-deciding Game 3 win against LSU (4/28) ... Scored three runs and went 4-for-4 against Arkansas Pine Bluff (5/2) ... Homered in consecutive games against South Carolina (5/4-5) ... Had hits in all three games of Auburn sweep, including 2-for-4 day with a double, two RBI and two runs scored in Game 3 (5/12) ... Homered, scored three runs and drove in three more at Arkansas State (5/15) ... Hit in four of five games of the SEC Tournament, including 2-for-5 day with a home run, a double, two runs scored in elimination game win over Georgia (5/24) ... Went 2-for-5 with two doubles, an RBI and a run scored in win over Tennessee Tech in second game of NCAA Oxford Regional (6/3) ... Homered in NCAA Oxford Regional final to earn All-Tournament Team honors (6/4).
2017 (Freshman): Played in 55 games, making 53 starts at shortstop … Named to the SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll … Led the team in sacrifice bunts with eight, ranking seventh in the SEC … Hit .175 with 16 RBI, 15 runs, five doubles and two home runs … Helped turn 19 of the team’s 39 double plays … Ripped the go-ahead RBI double with two outs in the eighth to help Ole Miss rally to beat No. 19 Texas A&M (5/13) ... Went 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI, including his second homer of the season, to lead the Rebels to a win over No. 19 Kentucky (3/23) ... Hit a three-run home run in the second inning against Memphis, marking the first home run of his career (2/28) ... Posted his second three-hit game of the season with three singles against No. 23 UNCW (2/24) ... Tallied a team-high three hits in the series finale versus No. 6 East Carolina (2/19).
HIGH SCHOOL: Attended Oxford High School where he was a four-year letterwinner and was coached by Chris Baughman … Selected in the 26th round of the 2016 MLB Draft by the San Diego Padres … Ranked as the No. 74 prospect in the nation and No. 2 in the state of Mississippi by Perfect Game … Named a 2016 Louisville Slugger second team All-American by Collegiate Baseball … Named 2016 Rawlings-Perfect Game second team All-American and first team Southeast All-Region … Among college and high school players, rated the No. 143 draft prospect by D1Baseball.com and No. 167 prospect by MLB.com … Named a top-500 prospect by Baseball America … Made the 2016 Rawlings Top Prospect list … Named second team All-USA Mississippi by USA TODAY … Played in the 2015 Under Armour All-America Game at Wrigley Field where his grandfather, Don, was the Chicago Cubs’ starting shortstop for 11 years … Four-time all-state shortstop … Hit .352 over his high school career, including 34 doubles, 127 runs, 83 RBI and 61 stolen bases … Led Oxford to Mississippi 5A State Championships as a junior and senior … Selected to the Clarion-Ledger’s Dandy Dozen in 2016 … Competed in the 2015 East Coast Pro Showcase … Earned All-America honors as a junior (second team) and as a sophomore (high honorable mention) … 2013 freshman All-American … All-state academic team with a 4.1 GPA … Member of National Honor Society and two-year student council member … Graduated with special distinction.
PERSONAL: Son of Kevin and Kelly Kessinger … Born: Aug. 25, 1997 … Has one brother, Josh … Grandson of Don Kessinger, who was a six-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner for the Chicago Cubs as well as an All-American shortstop (1964) and head coach (1991-96) at Ole Miss ... Dad, Kevin, and uncle, Keith, played baseball at Ole Miss … His father, Kevin, was drafted by the Cubs and played in the organization before his career ended due to injury … Keith ended up playing in the Majors for the Cincinnati Reds and now serves as the radio analyst for all Rebel baseball games … Managerial finance major.