Stephen Bradley Wilkerson (born June 1, 1977) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and first baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) for eight seasons. He is the assistant hitting coach for the New York Yankees of MLB. Wilkerson played college baseball for the University of Florida, and was selected by the Montreal Expos in the first round of the 1998 MLB draft. During his major league career, Wilkerson played for the Montreal Expos / Washington Nationals, Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners, and Toronto Blue Jays. Early years Wilkerson was born in Owensboro, Kentucky, where he attended and played baseball at Apollo High School. Wilkerson played for the US national junior baseball team in 1995. He was the most valuable player (MVP) of the World Junior Baseball Championship, pitching a three-hit shutout against Taiwan in the gold medal game, hitting .360, and leading Team USA with three home runs and eight runs batted in (RBI) for the tournament. College career A line drive hitter and versatile defensive player, Wilkerson received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Andy Lopez's Florida Gators baseball team from 1996 to 1998. A three-time first-team All-American, Wilkerson led the Gators to the College World Series in 1996 and 1998 with both his hitting and pitching. In the 1996 College World Series, he hit a dramatic grand slam to defeat the rival Florida State Seminoles. As a junior in 1998, he became the first player in college history to hit 20 home runs, steal 20 bases, and win 10 games as a pitcher in the same year. The Gators advanced to the 1998 College World Series, and he was awarded the Rotary Smith Award as the most outstanding player in college baseball. The pitcher-outfielder holds a number of season and career school records, including career batting average (.381), career slugging percentage (.714), and career on-base percentage (.531). Wilkerson was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2010, and the National College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012. In 2014, he received his bachelor's degree in sport management from the University of Florida. Professional career Minor leagues The Montreal Expos selected Wilkerson in the first round, with the 33rd overall selection, of the 1998 Major League Baseball draft. Initially, he struggled in the minors. In , Wilkerson