Former Del Rio Ram Wade Cooper helps Texas State in regional push
Wade Cooper’s arm has Texas State in the College Station Regional, and Del Rio is watching a former Ram turn a strong freshman season into a postseason run.
Former Del Rio Ram Wade Cooper is helping Texas State chase a deeper postseason push, and his name is giving Val Verde County baseball fans a familiar reason to follow the NCAA tournament. The Bobcats opened regional play Friday night against USC at Blue Bell Park in College Station, entering the bracket at 36-24 after a 7-2 loss to Louisiana in the Sun Belt Conference Championship semifinals on May 24.
Cooper has been one of the season’s most versatile arms for Texas State. The freshman right-hander from Del Rio and Del Rio High appeared in 21 games, started six and picked up five saves. He finished the regular season 6-3 with a 4.67 ERA over 61.2 innings, striking out 66 batters against 23 walks. Opponents hit .260 against him, a sign of how well he handled both starting and relief work for the Bobcats.
His best outing came May 8 in Jonesboro, Arkansas, where he threw a complete game in Texas State’s 6-2 win over Arkansas State at Tomlinson Stadium. Cooper allowed two runs on six hits, struck out 12 and earned his fifth win of the season in a 2:54 game played before 817 fans. Texas State’s recap of the victory credited him with going the distance, and head coach Steven Trout praised the performance.
For Del Rio, Cooper’s rise fits a longer baseball thread that runs through the Rams program. Texas State’s roster bio lists him as a 6-foot-1, 218-pound freshman who graduated from Del Rio High School. At Del Rio High, he earned All-District First Team honors as a freshman, was named Newcomer of the Year, added second-team recognition at first base and later earned first-team pitching honors as a junior. That track record is part of why his run at Texas State resonates back home, where strong high school seasons have long been viewed as the first step toward bigger stages.
Cooper is also chasing rare company. He is trying to become only the second Del Rio High player to reach Omaha, following Jack Mayfield, another Del Rio alum who played for Oklahoma in the 2010 NCAA Blacksburg Regional and went on to the College World Series. With Texas A&M hosting the College Station Regional and NCAA bracket play unfolding at a host site, Cooper’s postseason role has put Del Rio baseball back in the larger Division I conversation.
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