Gilbert attended Stillwater Area High School in Stillwater, Minnesota. As a junior, he helped lead Stillwater to their first state championship since 1991, striking out 15 batters and throwing over 115 pitches in a complete-game shutout.[1] He finished his junior year batting .400 alongside going 7–1 with a 0.63 ERA and 100 strikeouts over 55+2⁄3 innings.[2] As a senior in 2019, he was named the St. Paul Pioneer Press Baseball Player of the Year, the Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year, and Minnesota Mr. Baseball.[3][4][5] He finished his senior year with 97 strikeouts while giving up only one run over 49 innings alongside batting .370 with eight stolen bases.[6] He was selected by the Minnesota Twins in the 35th round of the 2019 Major League Baseball draft but did not sign.[7] He originally committed to play college baseball for the Oregon State Beavers, but switched his commitment to the Tennessee Volunteers after a coaching change at Oregon State during the summer before his freshman year of college.[8]
During his freshman year at Tennessee in 2020, Gilbert pitched eight innings and made ten starts in the outfield before the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a sophomore in 2021, Gilbert became Tennessee's starting center fielder.[9] He was named Southeastern Conference (SEC) Newcomer of the Week twice during the season.[10] He garnered national attention after he hit an ultimate grand slam versus the Wright State Raiders in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Division I baseball tournament, leading the Volunteers to a 9–8 win.[11][12][13] He was subsequently named the Most Outstanding Player of the Knoxville Regional after hitting a home run in all three games of the regional, helping Tennessee reach their first Super Regional in 16 years.[14] He finished the season having started 67 games with a slash line of .274/.341/.437 with ten home runs, 62 RBIs, and ten stolen bases.[15]
Gilbert was named to the USA Baseball National Collegiate Team after the season alongside teammate Blade Tidwell.[16] Gilbert returned as Tennessee's starting center fielder in 2022 and was named to the All SEC-First Team.[17] During Tennessee's first game of the Super Regional versus the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Gilbert was ejected and subsequently suspended one game for arguing a strike call.[18] He returned for the third and final game of the Super Regional, but Tennessee lost, thus ending their season. Gilbert finished the season having appeared in 58 games, compiling a slash line of .362/.455/.673 with 11 home runs, 70 RBIs, and 21 doubles.[19]
Gilbert made his professional debut with the Florida Complex League Astros, homering in his first at-bat.[22] After four games, he was promoted to the Fayetteville Woodpeckers.[23] His season ended in August after he dislocated his right elbow after a collision in the outfield.[24] Over ten games for the season, he hit .313 with two home runs.[25] To open the 2023 season, he was assigned to the Asheville Tourists.[26] In early May, he was promoted to the Corpus Christi Hooks.[27] He was selected to represent the Astros at the 2023 All-Star Futures Game.[28]
