GAMES
RANKINGS
Anthony Giannette, Callum Burton, Jacob Rebrook and Tyler Douglas
INSIDE THE PROGRAM: John Cooper's aggressive style works in SPC (w/ Photo Gallery)
Speed kills, right?
Pitching is key in baseball, but it doesn't hurt to be able to run. Under the direction of second-year head coach Mike Williams, John Cooper shattered their all-time steals record with 104. The previous record was 45. Let's just say the Dragons are aggressive and that style of play produced a 25-10 record and a fourth-place finish in the SPC.
Williams reloads again in 2020 with some quality talent. Pitcher Anthony Giannette (La Tech) comes over from Klein Cain to bolster the staff. The defense is solid as Jacob Rebrook (Pepperdine) and Tyler Douglas lock up the middle at shortstop and centerfield, respectively. '
Callum Burton (George Washington) holds down the hot corner. Antonio Pastrana will help on the mound, while Jake Peterson will give some pop to the lineup if he can return from injury.
John Cooper's Anthony Giannette verbals to Louisiana Tech
Anthony Giannette will be one of The John Cooper's newest weapons on the diamond come February and is already committed to play at the next level.
Giannette verbally committed to play baseball at Louisiana Tech on Thursday.
"Louisiana Tech is a great school backed up by a profound engineering program, which is the career path that I am taking," Giannette said. "When I took a visit all of the coaches were very welcoming, and the atmosphere was easy to fit in to.
"Many factors went into the decisions making process; How my family felt about the college and how they would be able to support in the future, the measure of the educational side along with the baseball program, how I felt about the college when I walked around it, and how I saw myself with the players and coaches in the future."
I am very excited to announce that I will be continuing my academic and baseball career at Lousiana Tech. Thank you to everyone who has assisted me through the journey and allowed me to be where I am today! #GoBulldogs@LATechBSB@LaneBurroughs23@TwelveRecruits@JCS_Baseball88pic.twitter.com/iu9GKUiiVY
— Anthony Giannette (@AGiannette13) October 24, 2019
Giannette, who is heading into his junior season, has been working on "perfecting how each pitch feels and having the same command with all of the arsenal" along with getting stronger.
What about that arsenal?
"Anthony is a gamechanger for us in our conference," John Cooper coach Mike Williams said. "His fastball sits at 88-89, running it up to 91 with a tight curveball. He will be our No. 1 this year on the mound and will help us make another deep run in the gauntlet of SPC baseball."
When you hear tight curveball, the thought of a power curveball like Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. throws comes to mind. Giannette says his curveball is a power curve and has been developing a slider to add into the mix.
Giannette, who loves watching New York Mets star Noah Syndergaard because of his calm, fluent motion and then aggressiveness to the plate, has high goals for this year.
"My biggest goals at John Cooper this year is to do as much as I can to help the team win in any way possible," Giannette said. "Also, to be able to grow closer to my teammates along with us pushing each other to be the best players that we can be to be able to get that title for Cooper."
Had a blast at Baylor for the 2019 Texas Rangers Underclass Area Code Tryout. #ACGames19pic.twitter.com/p64xwYv5We
— Anthony Giannette (@AGiannette13) June 21, 2019