HUNTSVILLE, Texas — You can cover part of his face but it doesn't mask the talent of Colton Cowser, a slugging outfielder from Sam Houston State.
“Colin is kind of a self-made player,” said Sam Houston State head baseball coach Jay Sirianni. “He works really hard at his craft, and he can really handle the bat.”
Cowser is back hitting during fall ball. His bat will soon lift him to professional baseball, possibly as a first-round draft pick in 2021. “I think everyone's anxious to get back; back at it,” Cowser said.
He hit seven home runs as a freshman and who knows how many he would have finished with in 2020 had it not been for the pandemic. But he is not a home run hitter.
“I think the best definition for me is just a hitter,” he said. “That's the thing that I like to do best. And whether that's hitting balls in the gap, or just getting the job done, no matter what's going on and (the) situation.”
“His bat to ball skills are as good as anybody I’ve been around,” said Sirianni. “And I've seen a lot of pretty good players.”
Sirianni has seen Cowser, who attended Cy Ranch High School in Cypress, hit a grand slam in his first college game; emerge as a freshman All-American and later earn a rare spot on the U.S. National Team, becoming one of its best prospects.
And Colton keeps getting better, no matter who is or isn't watching. “For me, I just try to go about my business and do what I can to just make myself a better ballplayer.”
"I think the fun part has been to watch him develop defensively as a centerfielder,” added Sirianni. “He's running better down the line than even when he was as a high school kid. He has kind of made his name as a bat that got hits, and he's kind of turned himself into pretty darn good player at every part of the game.”
The next step is to hit for more power. Colton believes it’s in him. “I think it's something that that'll come with time,” he said.” I mean, I feel like my my swing is there. I have the power swing. You look at the ball flight. That's something that I look at a lot. And if you think about a couple years from now, the balls are going to start going out. Doubles are turning into home runs. So, I think I'm in a really good spot right now.”
A great spot, others might say, as Colton Cowser steps back into the batting cage.
Mask down. Confidence up.
