Professional Baseball Player. The son of William and Maudelene Cole, Brian attended Meridian High School where he was the first kid in Mississippi to hit 4 home runs in one game. In his senior year he hit 10 home runs in a six-game span and set the 5-A state season record with 22 home runs. His record still stands. He was Baseball America's junior college player of the year in 1998 at Navarro Junior College in Texas. He was selected by the Mets in the 18th round of the 1998 amateur draft and turned down a football scholarship to Florida. He was 5'9" tall. Baseball America wrote "if Cole were a couple of inches taller, he would have been a much higher draft pick." Cole played outfield in the Mets' system from 1998 through 2000. He hit .306 with 42 home runs, 90 doubles, 193 runs batted in and 135 stolen bases. His story was featured on page 112 of the April 1, 2013 edition of Sports Illustrated in an article entitled The Best Player You Never Saw, by Michael McKnight. Former Mets general manager Jim Duquette testified in August 2010 that they were going to build around Cole as an organization. It has been said that when Cole picked up a bat, it was beyond special. He died in a car wreck at the end of the 2001 Spring Training.
Professional Baseball Player. The son of William and Maudelene Cole, Brian attended Meridian High School where he was the first kid in Mississippi to hit 4 home runs in one game. In his senior year he hit 10 home runs in a six-game span and set the 5-A state season record with 22 home runs. His record still stands. He was Baseball America's junior college player of the year in 1998 at Navarro Junior College in Texas. He was selected by the Mets in the 18th round of the 1998 amateur draft and turned down a football scholarship to Florida. He was 5'9" tall. Baseball America wrote "if Cole were a couple of inches taller, he would have been a much higher draft pick." Cole played outfield in the Mets' system from 1998 through 2000. He hit .306 with 42 home runs, 90 doubles, 193 runs batted in and 135 stolen bases. His story was featured on page 112 of the April 1, 2013 edition of Sports Illustrated in an article entitled The Best Player You Never Saw, by Michael McKnight. Former Mets general manager Jim Duquette testified in August 2010 that they were going to build around Cole as an organization. It has been said that when Cole picked up a bat, it was beyond special. He died in a car wreck at the end of the 2001 Spring Training.
Bio by: Beth Crowe
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