Cole Carder Named Great West League Player of the Year
Medford native Cole Carder (University of Antelope Valley) has been named the 2018 Player of the Year in the Great West League.
“I loved playing for the Rogues,” said Carder. “It feels great to play in my home town. Earning an award like this one just makes you appreciate the great fan base, great coaches, and great organization.”
Carder has quickly established himself as one of the best players in the league in just his first summer of collegiate wood-bat baseball. Carder led the Rogues in batting average, hits (65), and stolen bases (14) and rocked a triple slash of .349/.436/.543 during the regular season. Carder also finished second on the team in home runs (7) and RBI (34).
“Nothing makes me prouder than to see our local talent compete and succeed at the highest levels of summer-collegiate wood bat baseball,” said Rogues COO Dave May. “We are excited to announce that Cole intends on returning to the Rogues next season. We can’t wait to have him back in uniform and playing in front of his hometown fans.”
“He’s been a fire starter for us the entire season,” said Rogues right fielder A.J. Miller of Carder in an interview with the Mail Tribune’s Kris Henry. “He’s definitely the guy who gets it going for us offensively and he’s one of the leaders on our team, one of our silent leaders. He leads by actions, he doesn’t talk too much.”
The former South Medford Panther and Medford Mustang standout finished second in the league in hits and third in stolen bases. Carder also hit a three-run home run in the Rogues lone playoff game.
“Carder’s real talent doesn’t show up in the box score,” said Rogues Play-by-Play broadcaster Jonathan Kurman. “Cole is a tremendous outfielder. He seems to glide out there, and I’ve never seen him take a bad route.”
“Cole has all the tools to be a professional baseball player,” said Rogues manager Tyler Graham in an interview with Henry, “and I think he could be a very good (Division I) baseball player. He’s raw but he has all the tools and he’s willing to learn. He plays the game the right way.”
2019 Season tickets are on sale now! Watch reigning GWL Player of the Year Cole Carder lead the Rogues on their quest for their second league championship in three years!
