KANSAS CITY, Mo. --- Former Tusculum College assistant baseball coach Sean Gibbs has been named the Kansas City Royals Scout of the Year. Gibbs, who served on the Tusculum coaching staff from 2001-06, is this year's recipient of the Art Stewart Scout of the Year Award.
He will receive the honor at the 2011 Royals Award Show, scheduled for January 22 in conjunction with Royals FanFest, presented by Sprint and Teva Neuroscience at the Overland Park Convention Center. Former Royals greats such as George Brett and Willie Wilson will be among the presenters.
Gibbs has served the Royals organization as an area scout since 2007 and has scouted and signed several players including 2010 Burlington Pitcher of the Year Crawford Simmons.
During his six-year tenure at Tusculum, the Pioneer baseball program compiled a 209-124-1 record as six players moved on to play professionally. The Pioneers captured two South Atlantic Conference Championships (2005, 2006), the 2005 SAC Tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament in 2003 and again in 2005.
Gibbs assists in all aspects of the Pioneer baseball operation including recruiting. He has been instrumental in coordinating one of Tusculum's most talented recruiting classes in the program's history.
Gibbs joined the Tusculum staff from the Potomac Mudcats summer league team, where he served as head coach for five seasons with the travel college showcase team. His squads captured two national championships during his tenure with the Mudcats. His 1996 "15-and-under" squad captured the AAU title, becoming the youngest coach at age 23 to win a baseball national championship.
Gibbs, a graduate of East Tennessee State University, also served as an assistant coach at University High School in Johnson City where the Buccaneers captured conference regular season and tournament titles as well as two regional appearances in 1998 and 1999. He has also served as a college scout for the National Scouting Report, where he evaluated high school players for college programs at all NCAA levels.
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