Patrick Cooper enters his second year as an assistant coach with the Centre College baseball program. Cooper, a Danville native, was a standout pitcher at Boyle County High School. After graduation, he attended Eastern Kentucky University. Following his first year there, Cooper transferred to Des Moine Area Community College, where he was drafted after one season by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
He chose to transfer to Bradley University instead, and was reunited with the coaching staff from Eastern Kentucky. Cooper was drafted for the second straight year after one year at Bradley, this time by the Detroit Tigers in the 14th round, and chose to begin his professional career. He spent four years in the Tigers' farm system and reached the AA level with the Erie Seawolves.
While at Des Moines Area Community College, Cooper was named an NJCAA First Team All-American and the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) Pitcher of the Year. He played in both the Jayhawk Collegiate Summer League and the prestigious Cape Cod League. In those two summers, he was named the Jayhawk League Pitcher of the Year and selected as a Cape Cod League All-Star.
Along with his baseball accomplishments, Cooper also performed well in the classroom as he was named to both the Missouri Valley Conference (Bradley) and Ohio Valley Conference (Eastern Kentucky) Academic Honor Rolls.
Cooper has worked with both the Boyle County High School and Danville High School baseball programs and has also served as an instructor at the Millhouse AEP Baseball Academy in Kansas City, Mo. and the Morse Baseball Academy in Danville.
His primary responsibilities with the Colonels' will be to serve as the team's pitching coach and assist with the team's strength and conditioning efforts, as well as assisting with the day-to-day operations of the program.
Cooper finished his undergraduate degree at Western Kentucky University as he earned his Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies - Communication / Sport Management.
