Cooper, from Stockton, Calif. (Tokay High School), trails only right-hander Brandon Morrow, who was the fifth pick overall by the Seattle Mariners in 2006 and shortstop/outfielder Ted Parks, who was the 16th pick overall by the Baltimore Orioles in 1966, as Cal baseball's highest draft picks. Cooper and Ross are the highest combined draft picks under head coach David Esquer since Morrow was a first rounder and outfielder Brennan Boesch was drafted in the third round by the Detroit Tigers in 2006.
A third-team All-American in Collegiate Baseball and a two-time first-team All-Pac-10 selection, Cooper was also a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy, USA Baseball's Golden Spikes Award and the Wallace Awards this season. He batted .359 with 14 doubles, 19 home runs and 55 RBI. He also had 55 runs, a .682 slugging percentage, a .449 on-base percentage, 150 total bases, 37 walks and is currently seventh in the Pac-10 with 79 hits.
Cooper is a transfer from Cal State Fullerton, where as a freshman he was a member of the 2006 College World Series All-Tournament team. He flirted with a College World Series record with seven consecutive hits, tying Terry Francona (1980) and one short of Dave Magadan (1983) and Barry Bonds (1984). Cooper led all players at the 2006 World Series with a .533 average (8-for-15) with five RBI.
The Bears' outstanding left-handed hitter is second on Cal's all-time list with a .656 career slugging percentage and Cooper's .370 career batting average is tied for fourth (with Xavier Nady of the Pittsburgh Pirates) in the Bears' record book. His 31 home runs for Cal, in just two seasons, is seventh on the all-time list. This year, Cooper's 19 home runs were tied fourth on the school's all-time single-season list (with Xavier Nady in 2000).
Additionally, Cooper led the team with 24 multiple hit games and 17 multiple RBI games for the 33-21-2 Bears who qualified for NCAA postseason for the first time since 2001. He had the game-winning hit April 20 versus Washington, and the game-winning two-run single at USC on April 13. Cooper was the April 1 Pac-10 Player of the Week after going 6-for-12 with two doubles, two home runs and three RBI in the Bears' sweep of Long Beach State March 28-30 at Evans Diamond.
Standout right-hander Ross was 7-4 with 4.25 ERA in 12 starts this season, and had 66 strikeouts in 78.1 innings. He was named first-team All-Pac-10 for the second year in a row and was twice selected as the Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week - February 26 when he one-hit Kansas State, and April 1 after defeating No. 5-ranked Long Beach State (8.0 innings, five hits, no runs, two walks, six strikeouts).
A 2008 preseason All-American by Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball and Rivals.com, Ross started the 2008 season on a high note by one-hitting Kansas State (5.0 innings, one hit, one run, one walk, seven strikeouts) to earn this season's first Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week honor. He had an outstanding 2007 summer season with the USA National Team, finishing 4-1 with a 0.82 ERA, striking out 39 batters with only seven walks in 43.2 innings.
On March 25, 2007 during his sophomore season, Ross was picked as the National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball after striking out 16 batters (three away from the school record of 19 set by Larry Colton in 1963) with only one walk in 7.0 innings against Oral Roberts. He was noted for fielding as well, winning the 2007 Rawlings Gold Glove award as the nation's best fielding pitcher. For his career, Ross now has 271 strikeouts (third on Cal's career list) in 278.2 innings with a 19-14 overall record and a 3.20 career ERA.
Cooper's Notables: .656 slugging percentage second on Cal all-time list .370 career average tied for fourth (with Xavier Nady, 1998-00) on the Cal all-time list 31 HR seventh on Cal all-time list19 HR in 2008 tied for fourth (with Xavier Nady in 2000) on the Cal single-season list 150 total bases in 2008 ninth on the Cal single-season list .682 slugging percentage in 2008 seventh on the Cal single-season list
Cooper's Career Statistics (California) YEAR AVG G AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR BB SO SB 2007 .382 55 204 39 78 55 14 0 12 30 21 2 2008 .359 56 220 55 79 55 14 0 19 37 35 0 Total .370 111 424 94 157 110 28 0 31 67 56 2
Ross' Notables: 271 career strikeouts are third on the Cal all-time strikeout list
Ross' Career Statistics YEAR ERA G GS CG W L S IP H R ER BB SO 2006 3.19 15 15 1 6 4 0 84.2 74 35 30 41 85 2007 2.49 17 17 1 6 6 0 115.2 103 37 32 39 120 2008 4.25 12 12 0 7 4 0 78.1 76 41 37 33 66 Total 3.20 44 44 2 19 14 0 278.2 253 113 99 113 271
|
|
 |
