Trojans' Cooke will play ball for ETSU

Soddy-Daisy High School shortstop Justin Cooke tags out Rhea County's Westin Ray during an April game in Soddy-Daisy. Cooke, who batted .354 as a junior this spring, has committed to play baseball at ETSU.
Soddy-Daisy High School shortstop Justin Cooke tags out Rhea County's Westin Ray during an April game in Soddy-Daisy. Cooke, who batted .354 as a junior this spring, has committed to play baseball at ETSU.

Soddy-Daisy High School senior Justin Cooke may be preparing for football season, but the Trojans quarterback has committed to East Tennessee State University's baseball program.

"East Tennessee is a good fit for Justin. He wanted a chance to play Division I, and Johnson City is far enough from home without being too far," Soddy-Daisy baseball coach Jared Hensley said. "(Former teammate) Dillon Clift is already up there, and they're good buddies."

Clift, a catcher, just finished his freshman season.

A shortstop for Soddy-Daisy, the 5-foot-9 Cooke said he'll probably wind up playing second base for the Buccaneers.

"They said I have the arm but that it's a height thing," he said.

Said Hensley: "They're looking more for the prototypical guy at shortstop - a guy that's at least 6-2. He knows that, and he'll do great. He definitely has the arm and the range."

Cooke played some varsity baseball as a freshman and became a starter as a sophomore. While batting leadoff as a junior, he hit .354 with a .542 on-base percentage, 43 runs, six doubles and 13 stolen bases this spring. He also reached base 15 times after being hit by a pitch.

Cooke played in the same lineup with Tre Carter, who was drafted by the San Diego Padres in June and signed last month.

"He might've seen better pitches with Tre Carter and Gavin Rogers hitting behind him," Hensley said of Cooke, "but then even though he's an intelligent baserunner, he didn't steal as many bases as he might have because we didn't want opponents walking Carter."

Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him on Twitter @wardgossett.

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