Ellsbury commits $1 million to Oregon State baseball

CORVALLIS – Former Oregon State all-America Jacoby Ellsbury has committed $1 million to help the OSU baseball program expand its locker room facilities.

A Madras native, Ellsbury played from OSU from 2003-05 and was on the '05 team that reached the College World Series for the first time since 1952.

He was selected No. 23 overall by the Boston Red Sox in the 2005 Major League Baseball draft, and earned World Series rings in 2007 and 2013 before signing with the New York Yankees, where he plays center field.

Goss Stadium, home to the Beavers since 1907, is the oldest continuous ballpark in the nation.

"We are tremendously thankful," OSU coach Pat Casey said in a statement. "Great facilities are the core of great programs, and with Jacoby's generous gift we will be able to continue to offer our student-athletes a world class experience."

The proposed $2.8 million project will expand and enhance the locker room, update the equipment room, add team meeting space, and include both a new recruiting area and a centralized main entrance. In recognition of the gift, the locker room facilities will be named in honor of Ellsbury.

"OSU baseball has given me so much," Ellsbury said in a statement. "I am thrilled I am able to help my alma mater carry on its proud tradition, and perhaps this expansion will help convince a few more Pacific Northwest recruits to wear OSU orange and black."

Ellsbury, who was the American League MVP runner-up in 2011, has a career batting average of .295 with 67 homers and 256 stolen bases.