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| CCHS senior Alex Cosby signed a letter of intent to play collegiate baseball last week. Pictured with him during the signing ceremony are (front from left) CCHS Athletic Director Angela Starnes, father Jim Cosby, Alex, mother Jackie Cosby, sister Taylor Tinsley (back) CCHS Principal Curtis Brown, West Kentucky Bombers coach Rick Hayworth, Bombers coach Robert Copeland, Bombers coach Jason Darnell and CCHS baseball coach Donnie Phillips. |
So says Cosby’s former travel league coach Rick Hayworth of Mayfield.
Cosby signed a letter of intent recently at Crittenden County High School surrounded by coaches, school administrators and his family. The senior will be attending Ecclesia College in Springdale, Ark., next year on a baseball scholarship. The four-year Christian college is almost an eight-hour drive from home, but it’s a place where he will fulfill a dream; and become a hero for other boys who aspire for the same.
Hayworth, who coached Cosby and his teammates to a third-place finish in the USSSA Baseball World Series three years ago, said his 11-year-olds playing travel ball now think Cosby is a baseball legend because he’s going to play collegiately.
Cosby began playing baseball in the Crittenden County recreational league when he was nine. When he joined the travel team at age 14, Cosby told his dad he was serious about playing and wanted to play in college. His father, Jim, last year registered his son with a national recruiting service. He developed a player profile for his boy and loaded some video to a website. It wasn’t long before the phone started ringing.
“They reached out to us,” Jim Cosby said. “And they recruited him as a catcher.”
Although the CCHS senior has caught a couple of games this season for the Rockets, he’s never really been a first-team backstop. Not because he isn’t good back there, but mostly due to the fact that he’s perhaps an even better outfielder.
“His speed is his greatest asset,” Hayworth said. “He’s very rangy defensively.”
Donnie Phillips, who coaches the high school team, said Cosby’s baseball IQ is excellent, too.
“His knowledge of the game helps everyone around him,” said Phillips, who has coached Cosby the last two seasons. “He anticipates well.”
Cosby hits anywhere from two to five in the lineup. He’s been on the high school team since seventh grade and is a three-year starter. Right now, he’s hitting .296. He’s pitched about 50 innings and has a 2.15 ERA.
Cosby was also an all-conference football player, but he says he enjoyed baseball much more.
