Previous Experience:
Attended Scotts Valley High School where he was a three-year letterwinner for head coach Rick Erlin. Batted .442 with 12 doubles, two triples, six home runs, 25 RBI and 27 stolen bases as a senior, and was named all-league.Named Defensive Player of the Year after his senior season and was also selected Hitter of the Year. Named league most valuable player and hitter of the year as a junior after batting .400 with 12 doubles, six triples, three home runs, 25 RBI and 15 stolen bases as a junior. As a sophomore, Gillette hit .400 with 10 doubles, six triples, one home run, 24 RBI and 10 stolen bases and was named all-league and hitter of the year. Selected in the 23rd round of the 2014 MLB First-Year Player Draft by St. Louis but did not sign. Attended Oregon State for the past two seasons. In 2015, Gillette played in 34 games, starting 23, and batted .283 with two doubles, three triples, two home runs and 11 RBI. In 2016, Gillette played in 17 games, making 10 starts. Batted .087 with one double and three RBI.
Thoughts from Coach McKinley:
"Joe will be able to step right in and make huge contributions to our program. He will have a chance to hit a ton and is one of those guys that can play pretty much any position on the field. His versatility and potential with the bat is exciting to say the least. More than anything, I'm very excited to add him as a person. He's a true professional in how he conducts himself both on and off the field."
