College of Charleston baseball coach Chad Holbrook didn’t recruit Cole Mathis as a pitcher or hitter coming out of high school.
Holbrook viewed Mathis simply as a baseball player.
In just his second season in the Lowcountry, Mathis has proven to be equally adept at the plate and on the mound for the Cougars.
The 6-1, 210-pound sophomore leads the Cougars in hitting (.332) and earned run average (3.63) headed into this week’s Colonial Athletic Association’s baseball tournament.
College of Charleston pitcher/infielder Cole Mathis is hitting a team-leading .332 for the Cougars entering CAA Tournament play on May 24, 2023. Provided/College of Charleston Athletics.
The fourth-seeded Cougars will face No. 5 seed Delaware on May 24 beginning at noon at the Patriots Point Sports Complex in Mount Pleasant in the opening round of the CAA Tournament.
“I think if you asked the coaches around the league, they’d tell you that Cole is probably our most feared hitter in our lineup,” Holbrook said. “There are not many guys in college baseball that have the potential to dominate a game on the mound and at the plate. Cole has the ability to win a game almost all by himself.”
That’s not just boasting on Holbrook’s part. The statistics back up his claim.
Mathis is hitting a team best .332 and leads the Cougars in slugging percentage (.594) and is second in home runs (9) and runs batted in (47).
On the mound, the Cataula, Ga., native is 5-1 as a starter with 3.63 ERA with 49 strikeouts in 57 innings. Only CAA Pitcher of the Year Ty Good and Trey Posser have thrown more innings than Mathis.
His teammates have started calling Mathis ‘Cole-Hei’ – in honor of California Angels pitcher/designated hitter Shohei Ohtani – because of his dual threat status.
“They started calling me that last season and I guess it kind of stuck,” Mathis said with a chuckle. “Shohei is the most talented baseball player on the planet right now.”
The opportunity to pitch and get quality at bats was one of the main reason Mathis committed to College of Charleston as a sophomore in high school.
“I came to a camp here and fell in love with the city and the program,” Mathis said. “Not many schools were going to let me do both – hit and pitch – but coach Holbrook said I could do both and that’s why I wanted to come here.”
Holbrook isn’t sure what Mathis’ future will be at the professional level.
“When he’s feeling good, Cole can throw in the mid-90s (mph), so that normally means he’d be a pitcher, but I’m not ready to say he won’t be able to hit at the next level,” Holbrook said.
Mathis’ father Sammie was a pitcher in the Cleveland Indians minor league system.
“I love to do both, but my dad loves to watch me pitch,” said Mathis, who will head to the prestigious Cape Cod league this summer. “I’m not ready to make a decision either way.”
Mathis is convinced that being a starting pitcher helps him at the plate.
“It helps me pick up on pitches and pitch sequences,” he said. “I can use my pitcher’s brain in the batter’s box and put myself in their situation.”
Citadel-VMI in SoCon
The Southern Conference baseball tournament will begin Wednesday with fifth-seeded VMI (26-28, 9-11 SoCon) taking on No. 8 The Citadel (22-29, 7-14) beginning at 3 p.m. at Fluor Field in Greenville.
The winner will advance to face No. 4 seed ETSU (25-27, 10-11) on Thursday at 3 p.m.
Citadel catcher Trent Lott was one of 13 players named a semifinalist for the 2023 Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year award.
Lott has appeared in all 51 games for the Bulldogs this season, including making 49 starts behind the plate. He is hitting a team-best .331 with 10 doubles, one triple, five home runs and 32 RBIs. He has also walked 31 times and been hit by 17 pitches.
“We’ve got to continue to pitch well and play good defense,” Lott said. “We’ve been in a lot of close games. The one thing we’ve got to do during the tournament is get timely hits. It’s been the one thing missing for us all year.”
