With a fastball that consistently pops the mitt above 90 mph mixed in with a nasty slider in the mid-70s and a newfound splitter, Soddy Daisy senior Cooper Poe’s status as one of the Chattanooga area’s top pitchers of recent prep baseball seasons has been cemented this spring.
The 6-foot-4, 205-pound right-hander has been a bona fide ace for the Trojans, who entered Wednesday with 49 wins across the 2024 and 2025 seasons — their best two-year total since back-to-back 28-win campaigns in 2010-11.
“When I think of Soddy Daisy baseball, what comes to mind is an elite program that has produced multiple great players throughout the years,” Poe said. “When I graduate, I hope to be remembered as a great ballplayer, but more importantly, I want to be remembered as an even better person and teammate.”
Not only has Poe excelled on the mound, the Walters State signee has been one of the toughest outs in the lineup as well while hitting in the cleanup spot behind fellow senior star Jake Jackson, who was leading the team in stolen bases (33), runs scored (34), walks (27) and extra-base hits (11) going into the postseason this week.
Poe, whose favorite players of all time are Ken Griffey Jr. and Nolan Ryan, leads Soddy Daisy with a .433 batting average (42-for-97) and 38 RBIs.