Spirit's Take: Here's what Tulane transfer outfielder Ethan Groff brings to Ole Miss
On Sunday afternoon, Ole Miss baseball added a huge piece to their 2023 roster with the 2022 MLB Draft dust has settled. Tulane outfielder Ethan Groff announced via Twitter he would be transferring to play for the Rebels next season.
Originally from Orlando, Fla., Groff just put the finishing touches on a redshirt sophomore season where he hit .404, a .212 improvement from the 2021 season. He also slugged .709, hit nine home runs, an American Athletic Conference-leading 15 doubles, and 35 runs batted in.
He led Tulane with 17 multi-hit games and finished the season on a 12 game reached base streak, just three shy of his season high of 15. He also reached first in 38 of 41 games this season.
In high school, Groff prepped at Trinity Preparatory School in Winter Park, Fla.,and hit .338 while also ripping four homers, 19 runs batted in and swiping 10 bases in 22 games. He was named to the Orlando Sentinel District III All-Area and Perfect Game Florida All-Region teams in 2018 as well.
The 6-foot, 200 pound prospect was rated a 9 prospect by Perfect Game and was the 178th-ranked shortstop in the country and the No. 129 player in Florida as a senior.
Here’s a scout’s assessment of Groff while at the 2016 PG Underclass All-American Games:
Ethan Groff is a 2018 SS/2B with a 5-10 175 lb. frame from Orlando, FL who attends Trinity Prep. Medium middle infielder’s build, room to get stronger. Smooth defensive actions, stays balanced and moves through the ball well, soft hands, has a compact arm action and a quick release on his throws, fundamentally sound defensive player, ran a 7.24 at the PG Junior National Showcase. Right handed hitter, hits from an open stance with a high hand start, hands dive inside on his swing path, exaggerated inside swing, mid to opposite field contact approach. Excellent student.
The Rebels will be looking to replace a lot of production at the top of the batting lineup now with Justin Bench, Tim Elko and Kevin Graham all being selected in last week’s draft. Groff will immediately challenge for a starting corner outfield spot once he arrives on campus and should be able to solidify a spot in the heart of the batting order for Mike Bianco and Ole Miss.
In 2022, scouts oozed over his bat tool and ability to hit to all fields. The approach is mature and he can do damage gap-to-gap or make you pay by relocating the baseball over the fence. He had an on-base percentage of .503 last year and was an aggressive runner on the bases, scoring a league-leading 49 runs.
Groff is expected to recover fully from a season-ending thumb injury he suffered at the end of April. If this happens, he will be a name Ole Miss fans hear echoing inside Swayze Field next year.
