For the first time in Florida Gulf Coast University athletics history, a former athlete will have his jersey number retired.
Chris Sale, who left the FGCU baseball team in 2010 for the Major League Baseball draft, will have his No. 41 taken out of play during a halftime ceremony at the men’s basketball game on Saturday in Alico Arena.
Sale is one of only six players in MLB history to reach the big leagues in the same year as he was drafted. He was taken 13^th overall by the Chicago White Sox and has since moved into the starting rotation and become a major league all-star. The Sox ace has compiled a 40-26 record and has finished in the top six for American League Cy Young voting in the past three years. He finished this past season with a 12-4 record and 2.17 earned-run-average.
Sale finished his career at FGCU with a 2.52 career ERA and a 20-4 record in 52 appearances. He was named the Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Year in 2010 and led the Eagles to three A-Sun Regular Season Championships during his career.

“You don’t think this kind of stuff is going to happen when you’re starting out or when you’re going through it,” Sale told FGCU Athletics. “But, what an honor, it’s very humbling. It’s something that I take with a lot of appreciation.”