Cole overcomes setback to be two-way player for CMU baseball


Dazon Cole's high school baseball program in Pontiac was cut right before his senior year, but that didn't slow his progression in the sport.

After learning his high school team would no longer exist, Cole and his uncle began looking for different schools that could use Cole's help.

"It came down to me and my brother having to choose what school we wanted," Cole said. "West Bloomfield was only 15 minutes from our house."

The sophomore now plays two positions for the Central Michigan baseball team as a pitcher and outfielder.

Cole has a batting average of .400, scoring eight runs so far this season for CMU. While pitching, he has posted a 4.13 earned run average. Cole has pitched 28.1 innings for the Chippewas this season and tied for the team lead in strikeouts with 15. 

Initially, Cole was not a fan of having to transfer schools. It was his last year and he wanted to be near his friends.

"I was about to be a senior and I wanted to graduate with some of my boys that I grew up with," Cole said.

After deciding on West Bloomfield, Cole and his family went to talk with the baseball coach and athletic director to make sure he would be eligible to play immediately. 

Luckily, Cole was able to jump right in.

"I was like 'OK, this might be the fit for me,'" Cole said. "It turned out to be great. (The change) benefited me because I went from a school that just played off of talent to a school where everything was fundamentally sound."

CMU head coach Steve Jaksa said when Cole's high school program was cut, it didn’t change the way the Chippewas scouted him. 

"It really didn't affect us at all because I saw him when he was playing summer ball," Jaksa said. "We followed him in the summer the whole time. He was playing under coach Mike Brown at the time. Mike (Brown) and I knew each other from high school coaching days many years ago."

Assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Jeff Opalewski said it was a tremendous luxury to have a player like Cole with such a unique skill set that could help the Chippewas in areas they struggled.

"Anytime you get one player that can impact the game defensively, offensively and on the mound, obviously that is a big step to maximizing the limitations we have to work under," Opalewski said.

Cole said despite how rare it is, he enjoys playing more than one position for CMU.

"A lot of people say that it is hard to be a two-way player because there are so many signs that I have to know. (CMU) gave me the chance and an opportunity to do it, so I just ran with it and gave 100 percent on both (positions)," he said.

Cole said being dynamic helped him become a better player mentally because he has learned to quickly switch his focus. He said he is focused on improving his pitching and fielding throughout the season. 

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