JUCO OF Cole Evans returning home to play for Huskers
It's been quite an odyssey for Cole Evans since he was quarterbacking Grand Island in the 2018 Class A state football championship game against Omaha Burke.
The Islanders came up short to the Bulldogs that day 24-20, and since then Evans has taken a round-about way to get back to Lincoln to play college baseball for the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Immediately after graduating from Grand Island, Evans' first stop was Creighton University where the Nebraska Gatorade Player of the Year originally signed to play college baseball.
"To be honest, I broke my finger my senior year and I was pretty under-prepared to play baseball at that level, I think," Evans stated as the main reason things did not work out with the Bluejays. "Then, COVID hit and all the outfielders were scheduled to return, so I needed to go somewhere I could play and get better."
The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Evans ended up at Parkland Community College in Champaign, Illinois. Since he has not used his redshirt year, when he gets to Lincoln this fall he will have three years to complete two seasons of eligibility on the Division I level.
"My senior year [of high school] I played shortstop and I pitched," Evans relayed. "Nebraska recruited me to play outfield mostly. I started talking to [the Husker coaches] during thanksgiving break, and then I actually went to a camp of theirs. They offered me a spot on the team and I made a quick decision."
Evans, who both throws/bats right-handed, thought he did well at the recent Huskers' camp.
"They had us hit, run the 60, and I took ground balls from the outfield," Evans recalled. "I got to talk with Coach (Lance) Harvell and Coach (Will) Bolt. They were happy to see me at the camp. I figured it would be tough for them to come see me play in Illinois once their season started, so I wanted to get in front of them."
After his 2021 season, Evans was named a third-team NJCAA DII All-American, as well as to the NJCAA All-Region 24 Team and the All-Mid-West Athletic Conference first-team. For the season, he batted .329 with 12 doubles, 4 triples, 6 home runs, and 40 RBI.
"I would say last year I hit well gap to gap, and I hit for power," Evans said. "I put some home runs on the board and some doubles, but this year I kind of want to work on being a better all-around hitter. Just taking those singles instead of always looking to get a home run or double."
It's hard not to look ahead to his time in Lincoln, and Evans is thrilled to be able to come home to play for the Huskers.
"My family and I are very excited," Evans expressed. "I spent the past couple of years pretty far from home, so it will be nice to be just down the road from them."
After his spring season at Parkland CC, Evans has signed to play in the MLB draft league this summer. The teams for that league are located in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, but he has not gotten his assigned team yet.
