​AUBURN — One day after the Auburn baseball program announced longtime assistant Gabe Gross wouldn’t be returning for next season, it announced his replacement.Nick Ammirati, who spent the past two seasons orchestrating Georgia’s offense and coordinating its transfer portal efforts, will join the Tigers, the program announced Tuesday, July 14. Prior to Georgia, Ammirati spent time with Kentucky, Southern Miss and Northwestern State.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“Nick’s track record of success and current SEC experience makes him the best fit in the country,” head coach Butch Thompson said in a release. “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.”Here’s three things to know about Auburn’s newest assistant.Under Ammirati, the Bulldogs led the nation in home runs in back to back years, setting program records in the process, launching 144 home runs in 2025 before going yard 179 times in 2026. This spring, as Georgia returned to the College World Series for the first time since 2008, the team set program records in runs scored (611), RBI (583) and total bases (1,405).AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe offense hit a collective .304 and scored 8.82 runs per game across two seasons while also ranking top five in slugging percentage in back-to-back years.From 2024 to 2026, Ammirati’s taken part in two trips to Omaha and three SEC championships. His offenses led the league both overall and in SEC play in numerous offensive categories during that span, including average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, runs, hits, doubles, home runs, RBI, total bases and stolen bases.He’s mentored nine hitters who heard their name called in the top 10 rounds of the MLB Draft since 2024, and he was instrumental in landing five consecutive top-10 transfer portal classes, including the No. 1 ranked transfer portal class at Georgia last year.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementJun 25, 2013; Omaha, NE, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs associate head coach Butch Thompson (left) signals for a pitching change in front of catcher Nick Ammirati (center) and pitcher Ross Mitchell (right) during the fourth inning in game 2 of the College World Series finals at TD Ameritrade Park.Prior to coaching, Ammirati saw a long college career take him into a brief professional stint. At the college level, he played for Seton Hall, Panola College and Mississippi State.He was with the Bulldogs from 2012 to 2013, starting at catcher for a team that was the MCWS runner-up his final season, with Thompson as pitching coach and Auburn athletics director John Cohen as head coach.“Butch has been a mentor of mine both up close and from afar for 15 years now,” Ammirati said in a release. “I’m ecstatic to rekindle that relationship and get to work with one of the best coaches and men in our industry.”AdvertisementAdvertiseme