The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Cole Whitman Commits to UAB
11/29/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The UAB baseball team has announced that it is adding left-handed pitcher Cole Whitman (Pelham, Ala./East Mississippi CC) to this year’s signing class. The local product is expected to have an immediate role for the Blazers in 2018.
“We are so pleased to be adding LHP Cole Whitman to our signing class,” said UAB head coach Brian Shoop. “Before his injury last year Cole was one of the top rated left-handed pitchers in Alabama and we believe he is fully recovered and has an incredibly bright future on the mound.”
Whitman graduated from Pelham this past spring and is attending East Mississippi CC this season. In 2013, Pelham won the 6A state championship and were the runner-ups in 2015. Whitman also played basketball where he helped lead the Panthers to the state tournament this past year, the first Pelham team to ever make it that far.
“Cole is a winner and has always been a part of successful programs,” Shoop stated. “He was part of the state champion baseball team at Pelham High School where he pitched for Sean Anderson. In summer travel baseball, Cole pitched for one of the winningest travel programs in Alabama, Excel Baseball, where he was coached by Josh Beshears, Matthew Maniscalco and Steve Gendron. Now, Cole is pitching at East Mississippi Community College for Coach Chris Rose who is doing an outstanding job.”
Whitman is a powerful left-handed pitcher who stands at 6’4”. He was ranked by Perfect Game USA as the 15th-best player in the Class of 2016 and fourth-best left-handed pitcher. Whitman can pitch deep into games on the mound and features good deception on his fastball and changeup.
“We are also excited that Cole will have three years of eligibility once he joins our program,” said Shoop. “Cole is a strike thrower and has the ‘eat up innings’ mentality of generations past. We believe he will make a big impact on Blazer Baseball. He is an ‘All-American’ type young man who will fit in perfectly with our current players.”
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