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Oregon State Baseball: Commit Drew Gilbert Changes Course, Is Headed to Tennessee

The first recruit to decide not to attend OSU after the coaching change will be pitching in the SEC next year.

By Andrew Provencher
Mitch Canham, new Head Coach for the Beavers, holds up the championship trophy after winning it as a player.
New Head Coach Mitch Canham has done a good job of keeping recruits committed to the Beavs.
Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Drew Gilbert, a left-handed pitcher out of Stillwater, Minnesota, has asked and been granted a release from his letter-of-intent to Oregon State and will be attending the University of Tennessee this fall.

Gilbert was one of the stronger prospects in this year’s recruiting class. Prep Baseball Report had him as their 54th overall player (although it’s worth noting that other evaluators had him outside of their top 100). His fastball touches 95 miles per hour and he pairs it with a good curveball and changeup. Those tools allowed him to rack up a 0.14 ERA and 97 strikeouts in his final year at Stillwater HS.

His high school teammate and best bud Will Frisch, who committed to OSU much later in the recruiting process after de-committing from TCU, will still be in Corvallis come fall. Frisch will be a fun one to watch develop in the years to come—his fastball already touches 97 miles per hour. It would have been a treat to watch these talented childhood friends continue their career to OSU together. Instead, one half of this dynamic duo will have to do for the Beavs.

While it’s obviously never good to lose any recruits, only losing one after having to replace a legendary coach like Pat Casey speaks to the strength of the OSU baseball program and its ability to continue to have success into the Mitch Canham era.