Thieves stole a $9,000 John Deere Gator from a Tennessee high school baseball field, and the coach says the heist was oddly specific

Head baseball coach Kevin Holt arrived at McGavock High School’s baseball field in Nashville, Tennessee last week expecting to carry out routine summer maintenance. Instead, he found thousands of dollars of equipment missing, as detailed by BroBible. The most significant item taken was a John Deere Gator utility vehicle worth approximately $9,000. The thieves were oddly selective. Beyond the Gator, the only other item taken was a half-empty bottle of weed killer.

A chain drag that had been attached to the back of the Gator was removed and left behind inside the fieldhouse. “A John Deere four-by-two Gator and I think they took our weed killer also, which is weird. There was only about half of a bottle left, but those two things are the only thing I can tell that were taken. We did have a chain drag on the back of it, but that was taken off and kind of set up inside,” Holt said.

Evidence at the scene suggested the break-in was deliberate and planned. Holt noticed what appeared to be pry marks on the fieldhouse door. “This little indentation looks like [the door] was pried open. They opened this to get the gator out, backed it out, and then when they closed it back, they did not latch on the top and bottom,” he said.

Without the Gator, field maintenance has stalled

Crucially, the fieldhouse is not visible from the road, meaning whoever carried this out had prior knowledge of the facility’s layout. High school sports programs dealing with unexpected disruptions have drawn attention before, including a Pennsylvania high school football squad that faced a sudden staff freeze mid-season.

The loss has directly affected the team’s ability to keep the field in shape during the offseason. Holt explained that the Gator was essential for moving sand and performing tasks that a standard lawnmower cannot handle. “I can modify the lawnmower to do some of the work, like dragging the infield, but none of the sand can be moved. The gator had an adjustable bed on it, so that was perfect. Plus, we kind of have the little hook-ups, the clamp that goes on the back. I don’t have those right now. They would be easily replaced, but I can’t retrofit the mower to do everything the gator did,” he said.

McGavock High School is located on the east side of Nashville and is the largest high school in Tennessee by square footage. The school serves around 1,900 students in grades nine through twelve and competes in Division I Class 4A for baseball. The program has struggled in recent years, going a combined 39-57 over the last five seasons without finishing above .500 or reaching the playoffs since 2021.

Losing access to basic field maintenance equipment during the summer is an additional setback for a program already working to rebuild.