RINGGOLD, Ga. -- This already was going to be a big summer for Cole Wilcox.
The Heritage High School sophomore just turned 16, a milestone for any teenager. Getting his driver's license, however, is second in excitement to his commitment this week to the University of Georgia baseball program.
The 6-foot-4, 200-pound right-handed pitcher, a lifelong UGA fan, accepted the Bulldogs' offer after a strong summer showing with Brandon Turner's Exposure Baseball program. Georgia pitching coach Fred Corral watched Wilcox several times and quickly let the pitcher know the school was interested.
Heritage High School's Cole Wilcox has locked up a college baseball scholarship before the start of his sophomore year."I started talking to Coach Corral early this season, and I really like him," said Wilcox, who also has been recruited by Tennessee and Vanderbilt.
"He told me his interest in me and he went to a couple of Perfect Game tournament games I started. Every game I've pitched around here he's watched, so I knew they really wanted me."
The feeling was mutual from Wilcox, who first visited the Athens campus at 6 years old with his parents. His father, Lee Wilcox, still is trying to put the week in perspective.
"It was an easy decision for him, because he's been all about Georgia his whole life," said Lee Wilcox, who credited Turner and Heritage coach Eric Beagles with playing key roles in his son's rapid development.
"The first time he was on the UGA campus we were passing the football around and we've been back many times. I never thought he would get the chance to play baseball there. It's been a busy summer. We thought the big milestone this summer would be Cole turning 16, but now we're getting to celebrate him also getting a scholarship offer."
His son will join Gordon Lee's Chaney Rogers, a class of 2017 left-handed pitcher, at Georgia and will become the second Heritage player to play for the Bulldogs, joining current UGA sophomore Blake Hamilton.
Cole Wilcox's strong summer showing, which followed a freshman season at Heritage in which he was 1-1 with a 2.30 ERA and had 25 strikeouts in 21 innings pitched, catapulted him into the national recruiting spotlight. Perfect Game USA recently released its class of 2018 player rankings and has Wilcox, whose fastball has been clocked at 91 mph this summer, at No. 37.
"It's been a great summer," he said. "It feels great just knowing the next three years of high school I can compete and play ball and worry strictly about winning."
LFO's Keefe to Hiwassee
The haul of northwest Georgia baseball players at Hiwassee College also will include former Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe three-sport athlete Ryan Keefe.
The outfielder/pitcher, who played basketball and was the Warriors' quarterback, was a three-year starter in baseball. He will join LFO's Dylan Langston and Cole Ellis and Ridgeland's Tyler Heisey at the Madisonville, Tenn., school.
Hiwassee and coach Shane Gardner graduated nine seniors off this year's team and are looking to move up to the NAIA level.
"Coach Gardner has big plans for the program and is doing a great job," said Ridgeland coach Scott Harden, who helped the northwest Georgia group connect with Gardner. "Like the rest of the group, Ryan's best baseball is ahead of him and he will really help that program grow."
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296.