The University of Mississippi Athletics
2019 Baseball Roster
Grae Kessinger
- Class:
- Junior
- Position:
- IF
- Ht./Wt.:
- 6-2 / 200
- Experience:
- 2L
- Hometown:
- Oxford, Miss.
- High School:
- Oxford
| CAREER HIGHLIGHTS |
| ย โข 2019 MLB Draft Selection (2nd Round - Houston Astros) ย โข 2019 Brooks Wallace Award Winner ย โข 2019 All-American First Team (College Baseball Foundation) ย โข 2019 All-American Third Team (Collegiate Baseball, ABCA) ย โข 2019 All-South Region First Team (ABCA) ย โข 2019 All-SEC First Team ย โข 2019 C Spire Ferriss Trophy Finalist ย โข 2018 NCAA Oxford Regional All-Tournament Team ย โข 2017, 2018, 2019 SEC Academic Honor Roll ย โข 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 sinceย Tanner Mathis reached in 41 straight in 2011 ...ย 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):ย 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):ย Played in 55 games, making 53 starts at shortstop โฆ Named to the SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll โฆ Led the team in sacrifice bunts with eight, ranking seventh in the SEC โฆ Hit .175 with 16 RBI, 15 runs, five doubles and two home runs โฆ Helped turn 19 of the teamโs 39 double plays โฆ 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:ย Attended Oxford High School where he was a four-year letterwinner and was coached by Chris Baughman โฆ Selected in the 26th round of the 2016 MLB Draft by the San Diego Padres โฆ Ranked as the No. 74 prospect in the nation and No. 2 in the state of Mississippi by Perfect Game โฆ Named a 2016 Louisville Slugger second team All-American by Collegiate Baseball โฆ Named 2016 Rawlings-Perfect Game second team All-American and first team Southeast All-Region โฆ Among college and high school players, rated the No. 143 draft prospect by D1Baseball.com and No. 167 prospect by MLB.com โฆ Named a top-500 prospect by Baseball America โฆ Made the 2016 Rawlings Top Prospect list โฆ Named second team All-USA Mississippi by USA TODAY โฆ Played in the 2015 Under Armour All-America Game at Wrigley Field where his grandfather, Don, was the Chicago Cubsโ starting shortstop for 11 years โฆ Four-time all-state shortstop โฆ Hit .352 over his high school career, including 34 doubles, 127 runs, 83 RBI and 61 stolen bases โฆ Led Oxford to Mississippi 5A State Championships as a junior and senior โฆ Selected to the Clarion-Ledgerโs Dandy Dozen in 2016 โฆ Competed in the 2015 East Coast Pro Showcase โฆ Earned All-America honors as a junior (second team) and as a sophomore (high honorable mention) โฆ 2013 freshman All-American โฆ All-state academic team with a 4.1 GPA โฆ Member of National Honor Society and two-year student council member โฆ Graduated with special distinction.
PERSONAL:ย Son of Kevin and Kelly Kessinger โฆ Born: Aug. 25, 1997 โฆ Has one brother, Josh โฆ 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 โฆ His father, Kevin, was drafted by the Cubs and played in the organization before his career ended due to injury โฆ Keith ended up playing in the Majors for the Cincinnati Reds and now serves as the radio analyst for all Rebel baseball games โฆย Managerial finance major.
