John Grose

Honors & Awards

• 2003 & 2004 Team Captain
• 2002 Lincoln Regional All-Tournament Team
• 2002 Big 12 All-Tournament Team
• 2001 MLB 35th-round Draft Pick (Atlanta Braves)
• 2000 MLB 42nd-round Draft Pick (San Diego Padres)

Career Overview
John Grose (pronounced GROSS) was a three-year starter and two-year co-captain who has made 128 starts during his Husker career ? One of the best defensive catchers in school history, Gross hit .282 with 14 homers and 88 RBIs during his three seasons at Nebraska ? Graduated from Nebraska with a degree in business administration in May of 2005<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

2004 Wrapup
Hit .192 as a senior with six homers and 28 RBIs in 52 contests, including 50 starts ? Johnny Bench Award candidate is a strong defensive presence and excels at handling pitchers and controlling the running game ? Threw out 36 percent of base stealers as a senior and helped NU’s pitchers rank second in the Big 12 with a 3.76 ERA ? Had 10 multi-hit games with seven coming in league play, where he hit .244 in 25 contests ? Compiled a seven-game hit streak from May 11-21, where he hit .343 with three homers and 11 RBIs ? Went 2-for-5 with four RBIs, including a three-run homer, in NU’s win over Creighton at Rosenblatt Stadium ? Batted .400 during a three-game series at Baylor ? Went 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs vs. Northern Iowa (5/11) ? Had two hits and a pair of RBIs at Oklahoma State (5/9) ? Was 3-for-11 with four RBIs in three games at Missouri ? Became the first Husker to have two hits in an inning since the 2002 season when he had a pair of hits in NU’s eight-run fifth inning at Missouri on April 18 ? Drove in a career-high five RBIs - including a grand slam - vs. New Mexico (4/5) ? Batted .500 (6-for-12) with a homer and three RBIs vs. Kansas with three multi-hit games ? Hit .302 with four homers and 22 RBIs in 2003, as he missed significant time with an elbow injury.

2003 - Junior
Injuries took their toll on Grose, who battled most of the season with an elbow injury. The junior appeared in 45 contests and batted .302 with four homers and 22 RBIs. Grose made 41 starts, including 26 behind the plate, 14 at designated hitter and one in left field, as he did not catch for over a month with a stress reaction in his throwing elbow. Grose ranked among the team leaders in stolen bases with seven in eight attempts and had 13 multiple-hit games, including consecutive four-hit efforts against Kansas State on March 21-22.

Grose was entrenched as the Huskers’ starter at catcher for the first two months of the year, as he was hitting .333 with three homers and 14 RBIs through his first 25 games. He sparked the Huskers’ sweep of Kansas State, going 8-for-10, including eight consecutive hits, with a homer, five RBIs and five runs scored. Grose, who made his first career start in left field against Cal Poly on March 26, tied his career high with four RBIs in a 16-7 win at Kansas on April 4. He left the Huskers’ loss at Wichita State with the injury and missed the next six games before returning to the lineup at DH against Texas on April 19. In his return, he hit safely in seven of his next eight contests, including a ninth-inning game-winning single in an 8-7 win over Creighton on April 22. Grose struggled during May, withstanding an 0-for-22 slump that dropped his average from .348 to .296 before a base hit against Baylor in his final at-bat of the Big 12 Tournament. He had one RBI and went 1-for-6 in Oklahoma City.

He went 5-for-14 during the NCAA Regional, getting two hits and a homer in the opener against Eastern Michigan on May 30. He had two of the Huskers’ five hits in the regional title game loss to Southwest Missouri State on June 1.

2002 - Sophomore
One of the primary reasons for NU’s second-half surge, Grose shared time behind the plate with All-American Jed Morris. Grose batted .384 with four homers and 38 RBIs. He had 37 starts, including 33 in NU’s final 46 contests. In that stretch, he made 29 starts as the Huskers’ catcher, batting over .400 with 14 doubles and 37 RBIs. NU went 28-9 in his 37 starts.

Grose, who ranked second on the team with his .592 slugging percentage, was fifth on the team with 14 doubles and sixth with 38 RBIs. He had 14 multi-hit games, while batting .417 (20-of-48) with runners in scoring position. He would have finished second in the Big 12 in hitting, but did not have enough at bats to qualify for the conference batting title. In addition to his offense, Grose proved to be excellent behind the plate, throwing out 30 percent of would-be base stealers, to help the Huskers allow a Big 12 low 29 stolen bases in 2002.

He began the season slowly, hitting .231 with one RBI, as he played in 10 of NU’s first 22 contests. Grose began to see more significant action after going 2-for-3 with a pair of walks in a 12-5 win over Western Illinois on March 27. He picked up his second straight multi-hit game three days later at Kansas State, going 3-for-5, while driving in a career-best four runs against the Wildcats. Those efforts began a 14-game hitting streak, where he batted .489 (23-for-47) with a pair of homers and 18 RBIs, before the streak was snapped against KU on April 26.

Grose, who batted .379 with a homer and 11 RBIs during conference play, was selected to the Big 12 Tournament team after going 7-for-14 with four doubles and seven RBIs in four games. Against Texas Tech, he had three hits, including a pair of doubles, and drove in three runs. He went 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs in Nebraska’s 8-7 win over KSU that sent the Huskers to the title game.

He earned a spot on the Lincoln Regional All-Tournament Team after batting .455 with a homer and five RBIs. Against UW-Milwaukee, Grose went 3-for-4 with a homer and a pair of RBIs. He hit safely in all three contests and drove in single runs against Marist and SMS. After going hitless in seven at-bats in the Super Regional against Richmond, Grose went 1-for-4 with a sacrifice fly against South Carolina in his lone CWS appearance.

Before Nebraska
In his lone season for coach Doyle Wilson at Chandler-Gilbert Community College in Arizona, Grose garnered all-conference honors, batting .397 with four homers and 37 RBIs, helping his team reach the state semifinals. He was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 35th round of the 2001 First-Year Player Draft.

Grose starred for two seasons for coach Nik Garritano at Green Valley High School in Nevada before graduating in 2000. A two-time team captain, Grose batted .480 with nine homers, earning all-conference honors as a senior. He was named the GVHS MVP, as his team was nationally ranked in each of his final two seasons. A member of the National Honor Society, Grose graduated with high honors at GVHS, while being drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 42nd round of the 2000 First-Year Player Draft. Grose, whose grandfather Bill Cartwright was a coach in the San Diego Padres organization, selected Nebraska over Florida, Cal-Irvine and Loyola Marymount.

Personal Info
Birthdate: Nov. 16, 1981; Parents: John and Brenda Grose; Brother: Brad; Sisters: Breiona and Brooke; Major: Business Administration.