Cooper braves the cold

One of the top pitching arms to ever come out of Bedford County made his debut for the Kentucky Wildcats on Feb. 20.

Just four days after his 20th birthday, the Shelbyville Central product tossed a scoreless 1 1/3 innings at the back end of a 6-0 Wildcat win over West Virginia in the Caravelle Resort Tournament on Vrooman Field in Conway, S.C.

On Saturday, the 6-foot-3, 205-pound right-hander allowed two runs on four hits in 2 2/3 innings as the middle reliever in a 4-3 win over Bowling Green in his home debut at Cliff Hagan Stadium in Lexington, Ky.

Kentucky has high hopes for Cooper. It anoints him as the gem of UK's sixth-ranked recruiting class.

Cooper makes his return to Tennessee on March 26 when the Wildcats trip to Nashville for the start of a three-game series versus Southeastern Conference rival Vanderbilt. Tickets can be purchased online or by calling (615) 322-GOLD.