text: Gardner attended walk-on tryouts for the baseball team at the College of Charleston in 2001. Gardner made the team and became a three-year starter for the College of Charleston Cougars. Gardner had a .397 batting average in 2004, his junior year, but he was not selected in the 2004 MLB draft. In 2005, his senior year, he batted .447, tied for the most hits in college baseball with 122, established a Cougars record with 85 runs scored, and led the Southern Conference with 38 stolen bases.
  Professional career
  Minor leagues
  After his senior year in college, the New York Yankees selected Gardner in the third round, with the 109th overall selection, of the 2005 Major League Baseball draft. Gardner received a $210,000 signing bonus.
  Gardner finished the 2005 season in the New York–Penn League season ranking 268th in at bats (with 282), 54th in runs (62), and 78th in stolen bases (19). He was a Florida State League All Star in 2006, batting .323 in 63 games with 22 runs batted in (RBIs) with the Tampa Yankees. During this campaign he was third in the Florida State League in batting average and led the league in stolen bases with 30. Gardner was also second in the league in walks with 47.