Cody Grice will enter his fourth season as a full-time assistant coach/recruiting coordinator and eighth overall in the Laker baseball program. Grice, who is heavily involved in several off-season duties with the program, is responsible for coaching defense, bunting and base running.
Grice, a former Laker, returns to GVSU after four-year career in the professional baseball minor leagues. Most recently, he enjoyed a 61-game stint with the Tampa Yankees in the Florida State League, which is at the A (Advanced) level. In his 188 at bats with the Yankees, Grice tallied 35 hits and 45 total bases.
Part of his 2013 season was with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders at the AAA level and the Trenton Thunder of the AA's Eastern League. The year prior, with the Charleston RiverDogs at the A (Full) level, Grice hit .212 and toted a .264 on-base percentage.
Grice's start in the minor leagues came after he was selected in the 12th round of the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft by the New York Yankees. His minor league career began with a one-year stint as a member of the Staten Island Yankees, where he hit .241 and got on base at a .341 clip. In 166 at bats, Grice amassed 40 hits, including seven extra-base hits, 18 walks and 23 runs batted in.
In his three years with at GVSU, Grice collected numerous honors. As a junior, he was named the National College Baseball Writers Association, Daktronics, Inc. and American Baseball Coaches Association Midwest Region Player of the Year. A two-time ABCA and NCBWA All-Midwest Region First Team honoree, Grice holds the school record for highest career batting average (.418) and totaled 142 RBI, 170 runs, 42 doubles, 12 triples, 15 home runs and 68 walks. The three-time All-GLIAC First Team selection and 2009 GLIAC Freshman of the Year carried a career .492 on-base percentage as well. In 2010, Grice set single-season school records for highest batting average (.455) and hits (100), which led to him being named a semifinalist for the inaugural Tino Martinez Player of the Year Award.
A native of DeWitt, Michigan, Grice prepped at DeWitt High School, where he hit .375 and struck out just four times in 104 at bats as a senior, leading to an all-district laurel. He was a two-time all-conference and all-academic selection, too.
