Malden's Cooper Thomas signs with Williams Baptist Baseball

MALDEN – Green Wave baseball player Cooper Thomas will be continuing his education and baseball career at the next level next year after committing to play for the Williams Baptist University Eagles in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, on Tuesday, May 16, 2023.

Despite finishing out his high school career with an adverse 3-18 record with Malden, Thomas is accomplishing a lifelong goal of playing at the next level.

“It means a lot,” Thomas said. “It's been a dream for a long time to play in college, so for it to actually happen, it's kind of surreal. Around my junior year, I really fell in love with the sport again and at that point I realized I wanted to keep playing.”

After the start of the pandemic prevented his freshman season from taking place, the Green Wave went 18-12 in 2021 and 23-12 in 2022.

“We had a fall season in my sophomore year to make up for it, and it didn't always go that well,” Thomas said. “In my junior year, we had a senior-packed team and we were pretty good. This year, we graduated all of them, and we struggled. But it's baseball, and I always enjoyed it.”

Thomas took on more of a leadership role as his high school journey took shape, and he played for the varsity team for the entirety of career.

“Having to play a big role younger taught me how to lead by example,” Thomas explained. “Having the pressure of having to perform at a younger age than many has become an important thing for me.”

That's something Thomas will likely be tasked with as he joins the Williams Baptist roster next year. This spring, the Eagles concluded their season 24-17 overall, 11-10 American Midwest Conference.

Upon arriving in Walnut Ridge, he will join several athletes from Southeast Missouri, many of whom he has played against, such as Jacob Watkins of Cooter, Skylar Morrison of Campbell, Parker Jeffries of Neelyville, and Brevin Carlisle and Noah Willingham of South Pemiscot.

“It was really cool,” Thomas described of his visit and tryout for the team. “I didn't get to meet too many players, but I really enjoyed getting to meet the coaches. And (Eagles Coach Stephen Abanathy) is actually from Portageville. I know a handful of guys there who I played against here, so it was cool getting to see them again.”

Having made the 2022 All-Conference team with the Green Wave, Thomas has also competed for the Charleston Fighting Squirrels and the Southeast Tropics.

While he's spent his fair share of time on the diamond, Thomas also played for Malden's football and basketball teams. Now, he looks forward to dedicating his time solely to the game of baseball.

“I really looking forward to getting the opportunity to pitch and working on the game year round,” Thomas said. “In high school I play football and basketball, too, so I want to see how far the potential with baseball can go.”

Malden's Cooper Thomas (seated), and Williams Baptist coaches (left to right) Jared Dahl, Stephen Abernathy and Garrett Shaffer pose for a photo as Thomas signs with the Eagles baseball team.Christian Johnson, Delta Dunklin Democrat