POPLARVILLE, Miss. — For a third consecutive season, a former Pearl River baseball standout has had his professional dreams come true. On day three of the 2024 MLB Draft, 2022 National Champion Cole Tolbert (Laurel; West Jones) was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the 18th round with pick 537.
“We are very excited for Cole and his family,” head coach Michael Avalon said. “I can remember vividly Cole telling me that he wanted to play professional baseball during his visit with us. It is so difficult to be drafted today with the draft being limited to 20 rounds — what an accomplishment, and it is so well deserved. We look forward to following him and know that he will continue to work hard and compete to take the next step in his journey.”
Tolbert only spent one season at Pearl River but made sure to make the most of it, helping the Wildcats capture the 2022 NJCAA DII National Championship. The right-handed pitcher made 18 appearances for the Wildcats during his freshman season, throwing 45 innings and holding an ERA of 2.40. He struck out a stellar 60 batters against 23 walks, wrapping up the year with a 3-1 record and three saves.
Of Tolbert’s 18 appearances, none were bigger than his final one in the maroon and gold. Although he served as the team’s closer all season long, Avalon made the decision the night before the Championship game to give Tolbert the ball as a starting pitcher in the biggest game of the year. The 6-foot-4 Tolbert was in control from the start and went on to dazzle for seven innings, allowing just two runs on five hits while striking out an incredible 11 batters. PRCC went on to win the contest 7-2 to clinch the program’s first National Championship.
After his time at PRCC wrapped up, Tolbert took his talents to Ole Miss. In two seasons with the Rebels, Tolbert pitched 18 innings, striking out 23 batters and picking up one win.
PRCC AND THE PROS
Pearl River has had 30 former players selected in the MLB draft since 1983: Jay Reeves (2nd round | 1983 | Atlanta Braves), Todd Russell (28th | 1989 | Oakland Athletics), Greg Elliot (56th | 1989 | Chicago White Sox), Brett Rossier (32nd | 1991 | New York Mets), Wendell Magee (12th | 1994 | Philadelphia Phillies), John Blank (24th | 1995 | Minnesota Twins), Nick Tisone (24th | 2002 | Houston Astros), Rhyne Hughes (50th | 2003 | Pittsburgh Pirates), Chad Catalano (32nd | 2003 | San Diego Padres), Nick Tisone (19th | 2003 | Kansas City Royals), Corey Bass (47th | 2004 | Houston Astros), Craig Rodrigues (31st | 2004 | Tampa Bay Rays), Thomas Royals (22nd | 2004 | Detroit Tigers), Rhyne Hughes (8th | 2004 | Tampa Bay Rays), PJ Treadaway (42nd | 2005 | Washington Nationals), Kyle Maxie (28th | 2007 | New York Mets), Pat Daughtery (12th | 2009 | St. Louis Cardinals), Christian Talley (26th | 2013 | Tampa Bay Rays), Brandon Fry (18th | 2013 | San Diego Padres), Braxton Lee (12th | 2014 | Tampa Bay Rays), Taylor Byrd (7th | 2014 | Seattle Mariners), Ryan Deemes (36th | 2015 | Houston Astros), Jacob Taylor (4th | 2015 | Pittsburgh Pirates), Zach Clark (19th | 2016 | Milwaukee Brewers), Simon ‘Meaux’ Landry (22nd | 2018 | Los Angeles Dodgers), Dexter Jordan (16th | 2019 | Houston Astros), Colby White (6th | 2019 | Tampa Bay Rays), Landon Harper (14th | 2022 | Atlanta Braves), Bryson Ware (8th | 2023 | Philadelphia Phillies) and Tolbert (18th | 2024 | Boston Red Sox).
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