Auburn baseball poaches assistant from Georgia to replace Gabe Gross

Auburn baseball has a new hitting coach for 2027. Nick Ammirati is joining Butch Thompson’s staff, coming over from Georgia.

Ammirati was with Georgia for 2025 and ’26. UGA’s high-powered offense helped the Bulldogs sweep the SEC regular-season and tournament titles in 2026. Before Georgia, Amiratti was at Kentucky from 2022-24.

As a player, Amiratti finished his career at Mississippi State, where he impressed Thompson, then a Bulldog assistant.

“Nick’s bio speaks for itself, but my first glimpse of his potential in this industry was as his coach in 2013,” Thompson said in a program release. “As a catcher, he called virtually every pitch and led an incredible pitching staff to the national championship series. Since then, I’ve watched Ammo begin his college coaching career with success at every level, including the SEC. Being on staff for Kentucky and Georgia’s most recent runs to the College World Series has been impressive, and I’m excited for him to bring that success and partner with Karl Nonemaker to create a winning offense and develop the ever-essential catching position.

“Nick’s track record of success and current SEC experience makes him the best fit in the country,” Thompson added. “For me personally, I’m excited to reunite with a former student-athlete, and I believe our players and program are going to be very excited to have Ammo join the Auburn Family.”

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Amiratti’s hire was made official less than 24 hours after AU great Gabe Gross announced that he was stepping away from his position on Thompson’s staff to a new role within the athletic department. Gross sought a change to be able to spend more time with his children.

“My family and I have been incredibly blessed over the years by many things, but perhaps none more so than Auburn University and the game of baseball,” Gross said via AU. “It has been an incredible honor to serve as Auburn’s hitting coach over the last nine years, an experience my entire family has cherished, but the time has come for me to transition into a different role for Auburn Athletics.

“I have two teenagers at home, and our time with them under our roof is quickly fading. The current construct of collegiate athletics and college baseball demand your full attention, and my family does as well. While it’s difficult to step away, I know it’s the right decision.”

Auburn is coming off a 42-22 season in 2026. The Tigers hosted an Auburn Regional and Super Regional in the NCAA Tournament.

Andrew Olson

Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.