Quin Cotton hit a ton when he was at Regis Jesuit and that hasn’t changed no matter where he goes.
Before he starts his sophomore year at Grand Canyon University in Arizona, the sweet-swinging outfielder shredded the Alaska Baseball League.
Cotton led the Mat-Su Miners to a 30-14 record over the summer and has been selected the ABL’s Player of the Year according to the Alaska Dispatch News. The Miners are currently playing the Peninsula Oilers in an ABL semifinal best-of-three series and can make the league’s World Series with a win Thursday.
Broadcasters and coaches in the seven-team league had a seemingly easy choice in Cotton, who hit .331 with 51 total hits, 12 doubles, two triples, two home runs and 19 RBI. The 19-year-old was also won the league’s Silver Slugger award and was an ABL first-team selection as an outfielder.
The Miners — who also had two of Cotton’s Grand Canyon teammates in Preston Pavlica and Austin Bull — had seven league first-teamers in all.
When he returns to the Lopes, Cotton will look to improve on his numbers from a freshman season in which the 5-foot-11, 200-pounder played in 30 games (including 19 starts) and hit .274.
Cotton capped a strong prep career at Regis Jesuit career 2016 when he earned third team All-American honors from the the American Baseball Coaches Association & Rawlings. He hit .514 with 28 RBI and shared Continental League Player of the Year honors with teammate Travis Marr, who is now at Clemson.
Shortly after his high school graduation, Cotton played in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League with the Oneonta Outlaws and got the news from his father, Anthony, before one of the games that the Colorado Rockies had selected him with their 38th round pick in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
Cotton chose instead to go to Grand Canyon and work on improving his stock for a future draft. He is majoring in finance and economics.
Notes: In other news involving former Regis Jesuit baseball standouts, David Peterson makes his professional debut with the Single A Brooklyn Cyclones Friday.
Following an outstanding junior year at the University of Oregon, Peterson was the first round draft pick of the New York Mets. The 6-foot-6 left-handed pitcher is expected to start against the Tri-City ValleyCats at MCU Park and throw just one inning because of his high inning count in the spring at Oregon.
Peterson signed with the Mets on July 7.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora prep Sentinel