Former ace Blake Cooper looks ahead to life with Cubs

A change of scenery helped Blake Cooper have a strong season this year in the minor leagues, but the former South Carolina star said it was great to be back home at a familiar place Friday night.

Cooper and dozens of former Gamecocks were at Carolina Stadium as part of the USC baseball alumni weekend festivities. An alumni game was scheduled to take place, but was canceled because of rain. Instead, players and coaches from several different decades enjoyed dinner and reminisced about what it was like to be a part of the South Carolina baseball program.

“We’ve got great history, we’ve got great tradition. There are a lot of great players that want to be here and want to come back and want to see the new players and the stadium, show their grandkids and their kids what it’s like to be a Gamecock,” Carolina coach Chad Holbrook said. “Anytime we can put together an event like this, it’s well worth it. We’re just as excited as we can be that so many folks chose to come back.”

Cooper, the ace of South Carolina’s staff in 2010, was drafted in the 12th-round of the MLB draft that year by the Arizona Diamondbacks after helping USC to its first College World Series title in school history.

He remained in Arizona’s minor league system until late last year before being traded to the Cubs organization.

The move proved to be beneficial for Cooper, who had his best season of professional baseball this past year. Pitching for Triple-A Iowa, Cooper went 7-4 with a 2.63 ERA in 68 1/3 innings.

“It was definitely a good thing for me,” Cooper said. “The Diamondbacks had a lot of pitching prospects. Our coordinator said when they were making a trade with the Cubs, they asked for me, and they traded away one of their first rounders just for me. I feel like there’s nothing but a bright future ahead for me.”

Cooper said getting off to a fast start in Iowa was key to his success. He had an ERA of about 1.50 through the first two months of the season, which was a big confidence boost. He received another confidence boost earlier this month when he was informed of the Cubs’ plan for him to participate in major league spring training in 2016.

“They said I had a great year and to look forward to going to big league camp next year and making an impression on the big league staff,” he said. “It’s definitely a big accomplishment for me, coming from a small town and then coming here to South Carolina, having a great career here and then moving on and having to prove myself in the minor leagues, making it to Triple A and then having a big year this year.”

Cooper credits his time playing at South Carolina and playing in the SEC for the success he is having as a professional player.

“I believe that we played in the best conference in the country, especially for baseball,” he said. “I really think that the transition from college baseball and the SEC, not only the competition but the atmosphere, having the fans in the stands, it really prepares you for not only minor league life, but whenever you make it to the big leagues.”

This story was originally published September 25, 2015 at 9:19 PM.