Shawn Gilbert attended Aqua Fria High School in Avondale, Arizona. He then went on to Arizona Sate, Golden West Junior College, Fresno State, and Fresno Pacific. He earned his B.A. in Kinesiology from Fresno State in 2007 and his M.A. in Kinesiology from Fresno Pacific in 2008.
He was drafted by the Dodgers in the 21st round out of high school. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds and Minnesota Twins in the 2nd round while at Golden West JC. While at Fresno State, he was drafted and signed with the Minnesota Twins in the 12th round.
Gilbert played 17 seasons of professional baseball. He played 12 seasons in AAA, 3 seasons in the Major Leagues, and one season in Japan. He was primarily a short-stop.
His professional career highlights include 50 stolen bases in one season (Visalia in 1988), 14 home runs (AAA Albuquerque in 2000), 35 doubles (AAA Albuquerque in 1999), and a .333 batting average (AAA Albuquerque in 2000). He had 304 career doubles, 341 career stolen bases, and 88 career home runs.
Gilbert has been an Assistant Coach at FPU since the baseball program's inception in 2006. His job duties include hitting and infield. He is regarded as one of the best hitting and infield instructors on the West Coast. The FPU team batting average has been over .300 for two out of the last four years. The 2009 team set school records with 60 home runs, 124 doubles and 80 stolen bases. The 2008 and 2009 teams were ranked 2nd in the GSAC in fielding.
Coach Gilbert and his wife, Diana, have four children: Dawson, Keelan, Shane and Blythe.
