Grant Desme To Lead AMU Baseball Program
AVE MARIA, Fla. --- Grant Desme has been named the head coach of the baseball program at Ave Maria University, Athletic Director John Lamanna announced this week. Demse, a former prospect in the Oakland A's organization, brings a high-quality baseball mind to the Gyrene program.
“We are thrilled to welcome Coach Grant Desme to Ave Maria Athletics,” said Lamanna. “Grant’s combination of baseball experience and his spirituality made him a perfect candidate to lead our baseball program.”
“I'm grateful for the opportunity to coach at Ave and work with the players,” said Desme. “Ave Maria is a special place that combines a challenging intellectual life with a serious athletic program imbued with faith, I look forward to sharing my gifts with the players and helping them to become good men who are ready to impact the world in a positive way.”
Desme was drafted in the second round of the 2007 MLB Draft by the Oakland Athletics, and spent three seasons in the Oakland farm system. Desme, an outfielder, was drafted out of Cal Poly after winning the Player of the Year award in the Big West Conference. His junior season, where he won conference player of the year honors, saw him hit .405 with 15 home runs and 53 runs batted in.
In three seasons in professional baseball, Desme recorded a .286 batting average. His only full season came in 2009, when he hit 31 total home runs and stole 40 bases with the Stockton Ports and Kane County Cougars. After the regular season, he was named the Most Valuable Player in the Arizona Fall League in 2009, playing against many of the best young players in professional baseball.
Desme left professional baseball after the 2009 season, deciding to pursue the priesthood. He served as an assistant coach at St. Michael's Preparatory School in California during his time in the seminary. During the 2016 season, St. Michael's Prep posted a 12-0 record in Express League play, and put together a winning season.
The Ave Maria program has won at least 20 games in six of the eight seasons in school history. The 2018 edition of the Gyrene baseball team begins their season on January 26 with the first of three games against Taylor University in West Palm Beach.?