AURORA | Regis Jesuit senior outfielder Quin Cotton has given his verbal commitment to play baseball at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix.
Cotton, a two-time Aurora Sentinel All-City Baseball Team selection, notified the Sentinel of his college choice Wednesday and also made the announcement over social media.
A number of factors played into Cotton’s decision, including the presence of friend Marc Mumper (a Mountain Vista graduate) on the team, plus the weather, his family living nearby and the atmosphere of the campus. Not to mention the competitiveness of the program established by coach Andy Stankewicz, a former Major League Baseball player with the New York Yankees.
“I’m a big fan of Coach Stankewicz and it’s very evident that the program will be a great one for the coming years, so I’m looking to be a part of that,” Cotton told the Sentinel.
In Cotton, the Grand Canyon program will get an outfielder with multiple tools who is in line for an outstanding senior season for coach Matt Darr’s Regis Jesuit team. Cotton hit a team-high .457 last season with 37 total hits, including 15 for extra bases, and tied for the team lead in RBI with 17.
In the playoffs alone, Cotton hit .667 (12-for-18) and hit all four of his home runs on the season in addition to driving in eight runs as the Raiders team that improbably made the Class 5A Baseball Championship Series.
As a sophomore in 2013, Cotton hit .318 and drove in 19 runs for a Regis Jesuit team that lost to Rocky Mountain in the 5A state championship game.
Cotton’s teammate, senior pitcher/infielder Travis Marr, gave his verbal commitment to Clemson in August and plenty of talent remains on the Regis Jesuit roster for a run at an elusive state title. Bo Weiss (North Carolina) and Nick Spiliotis (Dayton) also have picked their college destinations.
“This year, our goal is to get back to the state tournament and do what we haven’t been able to do in the past two years,” Cotton said. “As a team, we’re very confident in our talent and we’re all really looking forward to the season.”
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel